


A Misadventure's Fortune

by SquemonWrites



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Avians, Banter, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Detroit Become Human AU, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin Reed is a Little Shit, Gavin Reed is a Mess, Gavin and Nines just need to hug each other honestly, Gavin is an avian, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, Humor, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Insults, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, M/M, Major Character Injury, Merpeople, Mild Gore, Nines is a siren, Pining, Protection, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Protectiveness, RK900 goes as Nines, RK900 is trying, Serious Injuries, Sirens, Slow Burn, Storms, Touch-Starved, Trauma, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Whump, Wingfic, Wings, chaotic gays, ill add more tags as I go, possible side characters - Freeform, reed900
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2020-07-11 21:22:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19934707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquemonWrites/pseuds/SquemonWrites
Summary: When Gavin, a lone avian who was bored of his homeland, decides to fly out to explore the open ocean, he has no idea about the dangers awaiting him. After getting caught right in the middle of a raging storm, the avian finds himself receiving help from nobody other than a siren named Nines.In other words, this story is a Mer/Avian au, and does not follow the plotline of the original game. (Reed900 centric.)





	1. Skyfall

**Author's Note:**

> This Detroit: Become Human fanfiction is co-created by me (@SquemonWrites) and Connorrk1700writes on Wattpad.  
> Come check out our Wattpad accounts!  
> [SquemonWrites](https://www.wattpad.com/user/SquemonWrites)  
> [Connorrk1700writes](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Connorrk1700writes)  
> Come check out our instagram accounts!  
> [Squemonn](https://www.instagram.com/squemonn/)  
> [Connor._.rk1700](https://www.instagram.com/connor._.rk1700/)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin decides to venture out, only to find himself stuck in the middle of a storm. He's going to need a certain mer's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before beginning the story!  
> I would like to thank [Connorrk1700writes](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Connorrk1700writes) for contributing and being a co-creator of this story. This was originally an idea up in the air for me, and we decided to roleplay it out, further turning it into a story. Without her I probably wouldn't even be posting this story! Both of us wrote parts, me writing for Nines' role, and she took Gavin's. Be sure to check out her works!

Things got pretty boring on the mainland. Everything Gavin knew was consistently the same, nothing seemingly new or exciting to him.   
The avian sat perched in a tree, his wings folded neatly at his sides as he gazed around. Gavin's eyes then landed on the beach.   
He always wondered what was out there, beyond all that water. He always wanted to find out, to get off his homeland and explore. He knew no one else would care if he disappeared if it was just for a little while.   
Gavin was adventurous and had a curious heart. Nothing could stop him from investigating new things, even if they tried.   
With a final decision, the avian jumped off the branch, expanding his large brown-black wings and giving heavy flaps to carry himself above the trees for a long distance, gliding as soon as he found himself above the water.   
It was beautiful, the water a pretty, crystal blue. He continued flying, staring ahead of him, excited to see what was out there. He had never felt this much air on his wings; It was such a glorious feeling, the way the breeze carried him, and it was very refreshing. He closed his eyes for a moment and grinned, just focusing on the air, and nothing else around him.

* * *

Nines had been instructed his whole life never to stray too close to the surface. He was warned many times about dangers and about avians and land-walkers, and was told stories about the violent slaughtering of his ancestors long, long ago.

That didn't necessarily mean that there was no contact between the two species though. There would occasionally be trade at some of the seaports, normally between Markus, Simon, and Josh since they were of the diplomatic type. And of course, not to mention, the occasional attacks on ships for sailing too close to the shoal's home-waters, or the petty female mers going and luring men to their deaths for fun.

They lived in a fairly large shoal. Nines grew up surrounded by the pod he has learned to call his family. They grew together, learned to hunt and fight together, and were told stories about land-walkers and the avians, and learned about their lifestyle on land.  
It was his home, and he'd do anything to protect it and it's people.

Nines had been hunting alone for a while, enjoying the peaceful solitude. His shoal wasn't necessarily annoying when it came to hunting or anything, he just preferred to be alone at certain points in time instead of being in a group. He couldn't connect to the others as much, even though they were welcome and loving toward him. Sometimes it was just too much for him to handle.

Nines felt the currents of the water as he swam, passing by a lone fish or a fellow shark every now and then. He could tell there would be a storm soon, just by the way the current felt against his skin. Storms were exciting. He liked going to the surface and feeling the force of the waves, feeling the rain against his skin.   
Nines continued to explore, finding himself edging slightly closer to land as the seafloor got higher and took on a different smell than the deeper waters. Maybe he'd stick around and see what was here. If he was lucky, he'd find a crashed ship or two.  
Nines continued onward.

* * *

Gavin, of course, had been too naive to notice the giant, angry storm clouds heading his way, the thunderheads forming in front of him. That's when the sound of thunder knocked him out of his moment of bliss, sending him flapping his wings nervously as he glanced around catching sight of the storm, lightning and thunder falling upon him rapidly.   
Gavin was already too far from the land to fly back... but he tried. But... where the hell was land?! Which direction was it?! He couldn't see it!   
"Fuck!!! _Fuck, fuck, fuck_!!!" The avian cried out, looking around rapidly. He was an idiot. A genuine idiot. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was flying, and he hadn't realized just how far he had flown. The mainland was nowhere in sight. Rain began pouring onto him, feeling like needles on his skin and wings. He beat his quickly drenched wings heavily, flying in whatever direction he could to try to get out of the storm, wincing through the rain as it hit his face.   
Lightning flashed all around him, surrounding him, getting dangerously closer and closer until-  
A painstakingly blinding flash, and an agonizing pain shooting down his back.   
He himself was hit with a small streak, nothing fatal, but that didn't stop a loud cry of pain leaving his lips as he immediately fell out of the sky. His body was limp, and he plummeted until he found himself hitting the water harshly with a resounding splash.   
He sank for a few good seconds, out cold for a moment from the impact before he jerked back to life, inhaling water on accident and desperately flapping his large wings underwater, flailing about, dragging himself back up to the surface. His head shot out of the water, gasping and flapping his wings harshly against the water, trying to get back up into the air.   
He couldn't, his wings were already drenched.  
 _"A drenched bird is a dead bird,"_ Gavin remembered hearing once. He didn't think that would ever apply to him.  
"HELP!!!" He cried out, continuously attempting to jump out of the water, flapping, then falling again. "ANYONE!?" He cried out again, trying to call to any avian in the air for help.   
The creature continued struggling, flapping its wings desperately trying to get out of the water. He finally exhausted himself. Slowly his movements ceased. He was inhaling too much water, his wings were beginning to feel like dead-weights. The bird slowly began to sink once the last of his energy depleted, waves crashing over him and forcing him down, sinking into the depth of the dark, dark ocean.

* * *

Nines was swimming along with the wakes, enjoying the toss of the water and how the rain batted his skin. He took a flying leap out of the water and dove back in, letting out a sweet sigh as he landed. He was about to call it a day and go back to the shoal when something splashed down into the water some distance away.

That... wasn't any ordinary sea creature.

Curiously, Nines swam over in time to see the creature, an _avian_ jerk back awake and swim hastily back to the surface. He could hear the jumbled cries for help, muffled by the storm above the surface, before the avian was finally tugged back under.   
What was an avian _doing_ out in this weather? It was sure as hell far from home.  
It was obviously struggling, disoriented and sluggish. Its wings were half spread in the water, buffeted hard by the ocean.  
Nines swam over, inspecting it closer.   
It seemed to have fainted.   
And then, blatantly, Nines remembered avians... avians couldn't swim, nevertheless _breath_ underwater.

Feeling a fresh new wave of urgency, Nines finally decided to help, despite all of the warnings he had received in the past blaring in his head. He looped his arms under the bird's arms, before beating his tail to swim them to the surface once again.  
Nines inwardly thanked himself for deciding to stay close to the shore of the island he had been nearing. The avian had almost made it, but it seemed its luck had run out. Making sure the avian's head was above the surface, Nines began to pull them toward land, saying occasional curses as a wave would jostle them under for a few seconds.  
"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ birds," Nines growled, beating his tail as hard and as fast as he could manage.

The unconscious creature didn't move as the merman pulled him along. He has a large burn mark on his back from where he was hit by a bolt of electricity.   
That would be causing him a lot of pain later, Nines knew it. His wings made it hard to move much since they were weighted by the water, obviously _not_ supposed to be in the water at all.   
He wouldn't be waking up any time soon, and that was the concerning part. His lungs were obviously full of water, and he needed assistance, soon. But, despite all of that, his heart still maintained a shallow, faint beat.

Nines finally made it to a shallow cove that had some flat rock outcroppings and a beach dotted with palm trees.  
With a large heave upward, Nines threw himself and the avian up onto a rock at the edge of the water near some tide pools.  
He sat there panting for a few moments, his tail dangling in the water, before he turned his attention toward the avian.   
It.. it wasn't breathing... or was struggling to. He remembered stories about merfolk saving land creatures, and how sometimes their lungs got clogged with water.  
If the avian was choking on water, then CPR should do the trick, right?  
Nines hesitated, before locking his fingers and began to repeatedly pump down on the avian's chest.  
And, to Nines' satisfaction, it worked.  
The pumping managed to shoot a bunch of water out of the avian's mouth which was a good sign, his mouth soon filling up with water until he began to choke and sputter, which escalated to harsh, rapid coughing. Nines jolted back the moment the avian began to cough up water, wary.   
The avian took in a few stuttering gasps and wheezes. He continued coughing, trying to get the rest of the water out of his mouth, before managing to roll over onto his side in a natural recovery position.   
Gavin's eyes partially opened, only being able to see blurry, unfocused images. His hearing even sounded like static, disoriented and fuzzy. He couldn't comprehend anything that was happening, and the creature's eyes slowly closed, before he was out once again.   
He had been saved... but by who?   
He'd find out when he'd wake up.  
  


Nines knew some of his pod wouldn't necessarily like for Nines to be near an avian - the two species had plenty of quarrels and fights in the past, which left centuries of passed on grudges still held to this day.   
Even so, Nines couldn't just... leave him here. He was obviously struggling and in pain. So Nines did what he could.

Though he was already farther up on land than he preferred, he dragged the bird a little ways, out of reach of the sea mist and the waves, behind a few large rocks, closer to the beach where sand began to replace the rocks. He cursed, wishing he could have legs so he could properly move around and search for somewhere a little drier, but this would have to suffice for now. It was important for the avian to be safe, at least. He knew the salt of the sea would definitely be harsh on the wound.  
The bird didn't move nor make a sound as he was dragged along, out cold for the time being. He did whimper softly in his sleep, due to the wound beginning to hurt, and his saltwater soaked clothing touching the wound which only made it worse.   
Nines propped the avian against one of the large rock outcrops, and with only a moment's hesitation, the merman crawled back and jumped into the water, where he went to search for a fish for the avian to eat when he woke up and some herbal sea plants to make a poultice for the wound.

Slowly, after a long while the bird slowly began to stir, letting out a low noise as he tried to get up, only to collapse again in pain with drawn-out groan, squeezing his eyes shut as he began to pant softly, surprised he was breathing and... _alive_.... but he figured he should just lay here and not try to hurt himself.  
He stayed laying down, eyes closed, only focusing on breathing, trying to ignore the fiery pain of his burned back.

_Fuck._


	2. Friendly Sharks, Mean Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines rolled his eyes. "I don't prefer chicken," he deadpanned, then tacked on more seriously, "I just didn't want to see you die."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who would've thought the shark is the nice one

Nines was successful in catching a rather fat tuna. He carried that and gathered some of the plants needed for the poultice, before heading back.   
He didn't expect his day to go like this AT ALL.  
He just hoped the pod wouldn't get too worried. He knew how protective everyone was, and he just prayed they figured he just needed some alone time or something of similar nature.  
Nines yet again found himself hauling himself up onto land, before pulling himself over to the avian.  
Huh, it had moved, it seemed.   
Was it awake? Its eyes were closed... Nines experimentally leaned forward and poked the bird's cheek gently.

Gavin had been resting in the setting sliver of sunlight, trying to dry his wings so he could fly away whenever he got better, but his body froze and tensed as he sensed movement near him. Gavin held back a low hiss, waiting for the thing to get closer, keeping his eyes shut.   
As soon as the thing touched his cheek that's when Gavin shot up, wrapping a hand around the other creature's neck and pinning it down to the sand with a loud hiss. His eyes were slitted like a cat's, and his wings spread out to make himself look bigger and more intimidating. His foot was planted on the siren's chest to keep him down, keeping his hand tightly wrapped around the creature's neck, tilting his head as he observed the features of the creature, growling lowly.  
  
Nines' gills fluttered in slight panic under the avian's grasp, and he let out a shrill shriek of alarm. His tail beat down against the rock as he struggled, letting out continuous spits and hisses. He tried not to let his claws dig too deep into the avian's skin, but he was being choked, for fuck's sake.   
He let out another shrill whistling sound, before coughing out, "..I.m not.. goi-no to h-urt y—ou."  
The avians gaze was merciless, hissing louder at the creature he held down before he flinched as he felt the twitching of the gills underneath his hand. Wincing and growling at the creature's grip and sharp claws, he pressed down more on the merman.   
That's when his gaze turned, glancing back at the tail moving around.   
Wait. Tail? Gills? Scales?   
"Wait-" the avian growled, then looking down at the merman again, his eyes widening.   
"AUGH! FUCK!" He yelled out, and jumped away from the merman, flapping his wings until he fell back into the sand, panting harshly, trying to get up but he couldn't move his wings, a low whine of pain leaving the avians mouth.   
He was in pain, a lot of fucking pain, and he was trapped with a fucking merman. His breathing picked up rapidly, just as much in panic as it was the pain. He found himself slowly sitting up again, leaning against a rock a good distance away from the merman. His chest visibly rose up and down from the harsh pained pants.  
Nines let out a shuttering gasp when he finally was released, letting out a whining cough.   
"Shit," he breathed, then turned to the avian. "What the hell!" He coughed again, his gills sore from being squeezed so ruthlessly. God, this avian was about to kill him after he _saved_ him. Nines scowled.   
"A 'thank you' would've been polite!"  
Of course, Gavin didn't know this merman saved him... so you couldn't blame him for being aggressive. The pained bird creature glared up at the merman a few yards from him, letting out a low aggressive hiss. He would've gotten up and went to attack the fucking beast again but refrained, considering he was in severe pain.   
A then heartbreakingly agonizing whine left the avian's mouth, slowly slumping even more into the sand, closing his eyes painfully. His back was _destroyed_ from the lightning bolt; it was charred, a series of burnt vein-like marks spreading across his back, skin cracked open, the blood dry. It was extremely painful to look at but even worse to be bearing through. Gavin would never admit: he was scared, confused, and just wanted to get out of this mess.  
"Stay-" he cut himself off with a painful groan,"-away," he warned, breathing very heavily and painfully. Breathing was still hard after basically drowning.  
Nines swished his tail like an irritated cat, getting over his initial shock of the incident.  
"What," he asked, "Am I really _that_ intimidating?" Nines examined his nails. "God, I should've left your sorry ass to drown if I knew you were going to be such a prick."  
The avian growled softly as he listened to the merman, glaring at him weakly. His hand harshly gripped the rock he was leaning against, his body shaking in pain. The salt in his soaked clothes was _really_ burning his nasty wound.   
"Yeah.... m-maybe... you should have..." he hissed through clenched teeth, but his confidence drained immediately as he gasped from the violent sting of his wounds.Irrational, but fair, given what he was going through at the moment. His wound was infected, obviously, and it really hurt him.   
The siren blinked, observing the avian's actions. "You've got to be in pain, though. I brought some herbs to help with that and went out of my way to catch you some tuna... but I guess you don't want it."  
Another low whine left the bird's lips, a painful one.   
"Why did.... you save me...?" Why would a merman, a _siren_ , help an avian? He could have _eaten_ him instead, the protein was beneficial. He hadn't really heard of sirens or seen any. This was the first mer he's ever seen.   
But he's heard stories, of course, about the merfolk who guard the sea. He heard stories and news about people's ships being sunk or the classic tale of the sirens who killed wayward sailors. But, at this point Gavin was laying in the sand, his guard now completely lowered. He couldn't defend himself, the pain distracted him too much.  
Nines rolled his eyes.   
"I don't prefer _chicken_ ," he deadpanned, then tacked on more seriously, "I just didn't want to see you die."   
It was true, and honestly, now that he was thinking about it, he did wonder why the heck he cared.   
"I guess that's it. I don't know. But honestly, we don't eat avians or humans, for the matter. At least... not usually. Not normal sirens. It's the nasty female outcasts who do. Normally fish suits us just fine." Nines pushed the tuna forward. "I don't know what you guys eat... but I caught this. I'm not hungry... and you should probably get some strength back. I can also make a poultice out of herbs for you. It'll help get the salt out of your wound and help fight the infection at least."

Gavin slowly looked at the merman as he heard him speak. The thing... cared? Why..? The bird growled softly and tensed up as the merman got closer, but then his eyes darted down to the fish. He was hungry, _very_ hungry, and he slowly took the fish, sitting up slowly with soft whines of discomfort. He took his pocket knife and skinned it, not really caring about trying to cook it. He cut it up into smaller chunks then and began to eat it tentatively at first, before eating it faster and more desperately.   
"We usually... eat.. fish...." he muttered, answering the siren's ponderings. Gavin ate a lot of meat, which was why he was pretty well built. "Thanks," he said sincerely.   
Nines shrugged off the thank you like it was nothing.   
"You're welcome." He subconsciously pressed a hand against his fragile gills again. He moved one hand down to the ocean plants laid out against the rock."If you don't want to trust the herbs, I guess that's up to you."  
The avian was skeptical of the herbs. He backed up, pressing more against the rock with a low noise of uncertainty. He was a bit jumpy, mostly because he's never seen a merman before. Nines paused, icy blue gaze observing the avian. He still was scared of Nines, which sort of hurt in a sense.   
"Am I really that scary to you?" He said softly, making his hands into fists to hide his long nails.  
The creature's eyes scanning him over warily with a cocked eyebrow.   
"Well... you're half shark.... everyone's afraid of sharks," The avian bit back sarcastically, getting the merman back for calling him a chicken.   
"And sharks usually eat chickens, or really whatever they can fit in their mouths," he huffed with a sassy grin. He finished the fish and slowly put the bones down. He stared dubiously at the herbs. Would that actually help...?  
Nines let out a huff of a breath, almost a laugh.  
"Yeah, you're right about that, but I promise you if I had any intent on eating you, I would definitely not wait this long. Feathers aren't too appetizing anyways- hell, I don't even eat stupid seagulls." He shrugged. "What's your name? I've never met an avian before."  
Gavin stayed pressed against the rock, his breathing low and excruciatingly painful, closing his eyes in pain before he focused on the merman again.   
"I've never met a merman before, what the fuck is _your_ name?" He retorted, but slowly mustered up an answer to the merman's question.   
"... I'm Gavin..."  
"I'm Nines, and if I were you," the siren proceeded, almost looking amused at how reluctant Gavin was to apply the poultice to the wound, despite his pain, "I would definitely put some stuff on the wound. You're just making yourself more miserable than you already are, stupid bird." He had to admit, he did feel bad, but this fucking avian wouldn't listen to his advice!

The bird glared at the shark as soon as he heard those words, letting out a low aggressive growl.   
"How bout you get back in the water and swim back to your sea cave, you stupid fish," he snapped back but shut up and growled in pain. He had made the mistake of tensing his back as he spoke, making some of the burnt skin crack back open and bleed again. His clothes were ripped apart due to the lightning strike, and it wasn't helping that it was starting to stick to the scorched skin.   
Without a second more of hesitation, Gavin took the herbs and carelessly slapped them on his back, letting out very loud yells of pain, his wings flicking open in response, stopping and dropping the rest of the herbs aside harshly, panting heavily with pain. It hurt way too much, making Gavin extremely light headed.  
  
Nines just watched the incident with a disbelieving stare.

"You _dumbass_ ," Nines spat, scooting closer. "Do you even _know_ how to treat a wound?"   
Despite Gavin's situation, Nines grabbed ahold of him.   
Gavin's body tensed as soon as the merman got closer, letting out a loud startled hiss before he was grabbed, flapping his giant wings around. Yes, Nines still had his big obnoxious wings to worry about, which could easily scratch someone's eye out if they hit just right. But he wasn't about to give up on this miserable excuse for an avian.  
Ignoring Gavin's struggle, Nines, taking the herb, squeezed out the excess juices, letting them drip onto the wound. The avian tried to wrestle his way out of the shark's grip, growling and expanding his wings until he felt the immense pain from the herb juice, letting out rattling yells of pain, jerking in the merman's hold.   
"OWWWWW OWOWOWOW _STOP!!_ " He screamed out, jerking with snark like growls. He clearly wasn't moving that much if Mines was able to be so gentle in spreading the stuff and press the thing on his wounds.   
" _OW!!_ " The avian cried out now, not a growl, just a cry. His body was so weakened from the pain, he started giving up on the useless struggling.  
Nines sighed, and, as gently as possible, spread the natural ointment around, before laying the actual strip of plant down against it, lightly pressing it down to make sure it was secure.   
"There."   
He let go finally, letting out a huff. "Sorry, but trust me, it's going to help. It stings at first, but it'll minimize the pain in a few minutes. Even little minnows tolerate it better than you," Nines joked, comparing Gavin to the babies of the pod. "But it's over now. I'll go if you really want me to. You're welcome for saving your sorry ass, or whatever."  
The avian pulled back quickly as soon as he was let go, letting out a very low shaky noise, glaring at the shark harshly before looking away with a pained whine. ' _You try getting electrocuted in the back,_ ' he thought to himself with a low growl.   
"I don't fucking care," he snarled to the merman's smartass comment. "Let's see how you like it the next time when _you're_ struck by lightning!" He spat back and collapsed in the sand with a soft grunt. It hurt worse for Gavin. Not only were his wings extremely sensitive, but the back also had the most nerves in it, including the spinal cord. Gavin's wings were _attached_ to his spine, making things about ten times more sensitive. That's why he couldn't fly away, that's why he was stuck here - _fuck_ \- the pain kept him from going anywhere. 

He didn't speak for a while, keeping his gaze off the smartass merman.   
".... thanks for.... saving me...I guess," he grumbled under his breath after a while. Gavin could barely focus anymore, his eyes beginning to roll shut in exhaustion.  
"You can leave..." he said quietly, closing his eyes painfully with a low breath and a pinched look.  
Nines gazed down at the avian.   
He... really must be in a lot of anguish.  
"I'm really sorry," Nines expressed because he felt bad. "I... I can stay and keep watch for you. I hate to leave you like this," Nines admitted sheepishly. He shouldn't care, but he did.   
"I'll be in the water right nearby. Just... call if you need anything, okay?"  
The avian had his eyes closed at this point, breathing heavily with soft whimpers occasionally leaving his lips. He cracked them open at the sound of the merman's voice, looking away from him with a low sigh.   
"Sure..." he muttered and closed his eyes again. The avian curled up in his wings then, like a cocoon. He slowly began to doze off for the night. The merman was right though... the wound did seem to feel better. It didn't hurt as much, and hopefully, in the next few days, he'd be able to fly again without so much pain.

Nines hesitated before pulling himself back toward the water, letting himself slip off the rock with a splash.   
Oh- the water felt so nice on his dry skin. Nines took a nice inhale, before swimming in a few circles.   
Looking at the sky, Nines knew that Connor would probably start looking for him soon. He was gone a while.   
Oh well, this... Gavin was his priority right now. Nines went to the surface and floated on his back, watching as the silver moon rose in the sky. He didn't go to the surface a lot, so seeing the moon and stars from here was really something. Nines closed his eyelids, keeping alert, but still getting some rest by resting part of his brain, just like a shark would.   
He finally sunk down beneath the surface, letting the gentle sway of the water lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Smell the Sea and Feel the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines gets into a quarrel with a shark. The two struggle to get along, but they're making progress!

Gavin had gotten a good night's sleep, surprisingly. With the decreased amount of pain it was a lot better, which was a relief.   
In the morning he slowly unraveled from the shelter of his wings and he yawned, stretching them out, surprised in feeling a simple ache, but nothing severely agonizing.  
Huh..... the avian looked at his pinions, moving them to test them before flapping them as hard as he could and getting off the ground, blowing sand everywhere.   
God- but the fucking palm trees. They were everywhere, getting in his way, keeping him in place in the air. Gavin let out loud a few frustrated screeches into the air.

Nines was startled by the squawks of sound coming from the air. He sat up, swimming back up and observing what was happening. Well... it seemed the herbs helped... but _shit,_ he shouldn't be trying to strain himself so quickly!   
"You're going to regret that!" Nines called, watching the avian.

Gavin growled harshly and began to just punch through all the palm leaves, busting through them until some vines managed to tangle around his wings, making his freeze and look at them in panic, pulling and tugging on them harshly with a loud squawk of alarm, using his teeth and biting through them.   
God he was a dumbass, realizing a second too late that that was a bad idea because he immediately fell out of the air, flapping to try to catch the wind, before hitting the sand roughly with a loud groan. He realized a few feet further he would've landed in the water.   
He laid there motionlessly, the throb returning in an instant, a low shaky whine leaving his body then as he lay there in the sand in front of the water's edge.

Facepalming, Nines swam over, before propelling himself up onto land before inching over until he was incredibly close to Gavin, face merely a foot away from Gavin's.   
"The bird has been grounded," Nines grinned, resting a hand against his palm. "You probably should give your back time to heal, y'know. Just because the herbs helped doesn't mean you're magically cured." He traced a finger in the sand.  
The bird groaned lowly on the ground, not getting up or moving.   
"No... shit Sherlock," he groaned, his voice muffled since his face was pressed into one of his arms. His wings were fanned out, displaying their impressive width.  
Nines continued to grin while reaching over to gently run a hand against Gavin's wing.   
"You have really soft wings," he mused. "It's a weird texture compared to anything in the ocean." He probably should've asked to touch Gavin's wing, but oh well. They were too soft _not_ to.  
"Do you want me to catch you another fish?"  
The avian flinched at the touch on his wing, focusing on it and freezing where he was.   
Why did that feel so good....?   
He grunted and tried to pretend he didn't like it, pulling his wing away and folding it back against his back as he slowly sat up in the sand, wincing harshly at the steadily returning pain.   
"Sure," he muttered, now realizing how close the merman was to him. He tensed but stood his ground, slowly calming down now. He was hungry, and he needed the protein and nutrients to heal properly.  
Nines propped his head with his palm again, still unwavering from his close proximity to Gavin. He let his gaze lock with Gavin's for a moment, his signature grin still capturing his lips.   
"Tell me," he began, "The herbs helped, didn't they?"   
His eyes shifted to the scar on Gavin's nose, then traveled down to his lips for a quick moment, before darting back up to his eyes.  
The avian glared back at the merman in slight alarm but then looked away. "Maybe..." he softly growled, no real all bite to it. He caught sight of the merman staring at him and his scar, his wings shifting uncomfortably as he quickly looked away so he couldn't look at his scar.   
"Yes they helped. it doesn't hurt as bad," he admitted with a low groan.  
Was Gavin flustered? Nines wanted to pursue that, but he decided to spare the bird for now.  
"Told you so," Nines said, feeling a sense of triumph. "I'll go get your fish now," he said, the twisted around and began pulling himself back toward the water. Curse the sand and rocks, he could feel it scraping his underside. He'd have to apply ointment on himself if he kept this up. Gritting his teeth, he finally made it to the rocks, where he slid back into the water and swam off to find a decent fish for Gavin.

Gavin glared back at the merman and watched him struggle to get back into the water. Why did it keep sliding up on land if it was clearly hurting itself? Next time the dumb fish climbed back up here Gavin would carry it himself and put it back in the water. because Gavin needed to return the favor _somehow_. He sat in the shade and waited for his fish. He could fish on his own ifhe wasn't grounded.

* * *

It was easy for Nines to find a pod of tuna. A great white shark was already having a feast, but Nines wasn't too bothered- he knew if he kept his distance it wouldn't be aggravated. Nines managed to catch two, one for himself and one for Gavin. Now it was just the struggle of bringing it back without attracting other lazy sharks by the stench of freshly spilled blood.

He swam fast, but even so, he could see movement below him. Nines let out a warning growl that reverberated in the water. Any _sensible_ animal would know to back off, but this dumb fish wasn't leaving him alone. No, instead it came forward, in an attempt to steal the tuna from under Nine's arm. He swiped a claw at the shark but didn't come out unscathed.   
Curse the shark's rough sandpaper-like skin.   
Nines let out a snarl, attacking the shark again. It was hard battling with only one hand, and that paid a price. The shark twisted, and before Nines could react, the shark got a loose grip on his arm and pulled, tearing his arm.

Nines let out a furious screech.

Oh, this fucker was _dead._

* * *

Gavin was becoming a little worried and slightly impatient, but he tried not to focus on it. He got up after a minute and tried to fly again to grab some fruit. He managed to do so, landing on the ground unceremoniously with a grunt. He munched on the sweet reward in his hand while stared at the water.   
Where the hell was the dumb fish? He flapped again trying to see anything but couldn't, falling out of the air once again but this time landing on his side, letting out a yell, sitting up with very loud harsh and heavy pants as if he just broke a bone. He didn't. He was just _extremely_ fucking sensitive, and his wounds hurt like a bitch. He slowly began eating once again, waiting for the siren's return.

* * *

Nines finally managed to shake the shark off, snarling as it swam off, giving up. Luckily the tuna went without any damage- though Nines suffered a bite wound to his arm and rather harsh scratches on his hands, body, and tail trying to ward the shark away. Definitely far from anything severe, but oh, it did fucking _sting_ like _hell_. He kept his teeth gritted all the way back, and when he leaped out of the water onto the rough rock, he let out a gasp of pain, feeling the sharp edge of the rock dig into one of his fresh wounds.   
It's okay.   
This was okay, he'd just put some herbs on the wounds later.   
"Gavin?" Nines called out in a pinched tone, looking around.

Gavin had been resting under a tree in the shade but then he heard the pained call from the merman, opening his eyes. He could see him on the rock out there and he saw _blood-_ what had happened? He got up with a groan of pain.   
What the hell did that dumb fish do?  
  
The avian got up and weakly flew over to the merman, wrapping his arms around his midsection and grunted out in mild discomfort as he lifted him up, flapping back over to the sheltered rocks before he collapsed in the sand, letting go of the merman and panting harshly in exhaustion. That alone exhausted him, that was bad.   
"Put some herbs on that _sweetheart_ ," he mocked but ended up sounding very out of breath. Maybe not a good time to be sarcastic.  
The merman grunted, feeling weird from being suspended in the air for a moment, but he let out a breathless laugh, offering the tuna.   
"Here."   
He rolled onto his back, happy to rest even if it was out of water. He let his eyes drift to Gavin. A small smile.   
"'Sweetheart?' How endearing."   
He knew Gavin was joking. Two could play that game. He grunted, before observing his bite on the arm. Blood dripped from the gash down his arm and hand, onto the pale sand below.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He frowned, pulling off a loose part of his skin. How inconvenient.  
  
Gavin was _trying_ to sound like an annoying mom. He sat up slowly, looking at the tuna and grabbing it slowly and beginning to munch on it after lazily removing the skin. He sat back as soon as he was done and sighed softly.   
"Where the hell did you go, and who the hell attacked you?" He asked slowly. He then turned and watched the merman pull the loose, bloody skin off and nearly vomited.   
"Ew, what the fuck! Don't _do that_!" He exclaimed in disgust and flapped a wing, blowing sand at the merman with a huff.  
"Hey, don't put sand on the wound!" Nines spat out in surprise, pulling away for a moment. "I went maybe a mile. Found a good pod of tuna, but after I caught two, the smell of blood attracted a shark that wouldn't leave me the fuck alone. I had to get it away before it ate the tuna. But don't fear- I sent it swimming away in fear," Nines said in an act of fake boasting, before snorting. "These wounds are nothing, though. " He shrugged, not making a big deal about them. "I'll deal."  
Gavin snarled slightly in disgust at the wound, but Gavin's lightning bolt wound on his back was sure to be much more disgusting to look at than a simple bite or scratch mark.  
"I didn't think sharks could heal after a wound," he muttered.  
Nines shrugged. "Not on my tail, but my upper body is usually able to heal without too much scarring unless it's deep."   
Gavin looked away. "Put herbs on it," he said, trying to sound like Nines when he told him to put herbs on his wound. He opened his wings and stretched them out, wincing as it stretched his back wound, before cursing and closing them again.   
"Fuck this..." he muttered out in irritation.  
Nines frowned. "I used all the herbs I gathered on you, dumbass. I have to collect more."   
Gavin looked at the merman as if he were crazy.   
"Then go get some more," he said. He sounded slightly worried for the merman, and he felt bad seeing those wounds. Nines raised a brow as Gavin tried to stretch his wings. "Are your wings cramping or something?" He asked, leaning in. "I could give you a massage or something. Maybe that'll help."  
"No it's my back. I can't fly with the pain my wings cause. They stretch out the wound." he groaned and sat up. "One more day... then I can fly," he said hopefully. He then looked over to the merman, eyes staring at the fresh wounds that were still bleeding a fair amount.  
"Do you... need any help finding herbs..?"  
"You can't go underwater," Nines reasoned, already trying to pull himself toward the ocean. "I'll be fine. And you should be careful," he reminded the avian. "Even though you may _feel_ like you're ready to take off, your back isn't fully healed yet. You shouldn't hurt yourself further."   
Nines turned to make his way back to the water, but let out a very slight hiss as a rock scraped against one of his existing scratches. " _Fuck_ ," He spat.  
Gavin watched the merman with a low glare, groaning slightly as he watched him try to pull himself.   
"Oh no you don't," he growled and got up, walking over to the merman and grabbing him around his waist, immediately taking off into the air. As gently as he could, he dropped the merman into the water and flew back, falling back onto the beach with a hiss of pain, sitting up shakily.  
Nines scowled, wishing Gavin didn't have to push himself for him. Deciding not to dwell on it, he sped off, looking for the small reef he got the plants from. He just hoped he didn't attract any more predators. Luckily it wasn't too far, and he finally found the plants he was looking for. He picked a bunch, for himself and Gavin, before turning and coming back.

Gavin sighed and closed his eyes with a soft sigh. He needed fruit, something good. He glanced up and noticed coconuts. Considering he hadn't had freshwater in a long time... he jumped up and snagged a couple, breaking them open on a rock since he didn't have a stupid machete, and began drinking the water. After he was done he ate the meat of the coconut, ripping it out with a pleasured groan. The palm trees? Redeemable.

* * *

Nines was quick to come back.   
He didn't have the energy to jump back up onto land, so he just slowly lifted himself, wiggling onto the edge of the rock with a grunt. ' _Pathetic_ ,' he told himself, ' _You're one of the strongest in the shoal and you can barely lift yourself up._ '   
He blamed the fact that he didn't get very good sleep and the exertion of going on land and hunting with only a little bit of food in his system. And thinking of the shoal... he really should get back to at least show that he was okay.   
Soon, soon.   
Right now, he just called out, "Gavin!" and waited.

Gavin was very busy eating and drinking all the milk, water and meat from the coconuts. He twitched as he heard the call and looked up, seeing the merman at the edge of the rocks. He sighed, worried as he saw the state he was in.   
Sitting up with a twinge of fierce discomfort, he took off over towards the merman, grabbing him around his waist and flying back towards the tree he was sitting under, crash landing once again into the sand with him.   
"You're.... heavy..." he groaned out and laid on his side, panting.  
"Sorry," Nines muttered. "It's my stupid tail." He took the herbal underwater plants. "Got these, at least. I'll put some more on your back if that's okay." He squeezed some of the juices onto his own scratch against his chest, letting out a pained hiss.  
Gavin tensed but he sighed and slowly nodded, waiting for the pain.   
"F-Fine but just... be quick." He moved his head and grabbed a coconut he was munching on and bit into it nervously as he waited for the shark to start applying more herb.  
  
Nines nodded, and scooted closer before taking the plant and proceeding to lather the wound, just as he had done the previous time.   
"It's looking a little better, at least," Nines mused. "Less angry red. Not infected either, at least not from what I can tell." He pressed down one of the leaves, letting it stick.   
Gavin opened his mouth and let out a shrill sound at the affliction, flinching with a soft cry and sitting as still as he could, wiping a traitorous tear out of his eye. It really hurt, nobody could blame him.   
Nines winced. He didn't want to tell Gavin his ears were sensitive to noise, so he just stayed quiet until the avian was finished.  
"There, I'm done." He moved back to face Gavin. "Try to restrict how much you move until it soaks in a little bit." The merman then pointed a finger accusingly at the avian, "And _NO FLYING_ for the rest of the day. I can pull myself to the water fine, I've done it before, I can do it again."  
"W-wow. O-ok m-mom..." he tried to sound sarcastic but that pain really cut into his voice. He most certainly wasn't going to move for a while.  
"I'm sorry," Nines huffed. He didn't like seeing Gavin in pain.   
"And I'm not-" He paused, then just proceeded to roll his eyes. "Here, can you put the herb on my arm? I can't reach it and I honestly don't think I can trust putting it on myself."   
He held the plant out to Gavin. "And please don't just slap it on, do what I do. Squeeze the juices out and massage it in a little bit, then slap the leaf on."  
Gavin nodded after a minute of composing himself, before scooting over and grabbing the herbs. He did what he was told to do and squeezed the juices in before gently massaging them in, then slipping the leaf on with a grin, since Nines has done that to him twice already.  
Nines gasped out, letting out a high pitched keen, before gritting his teeth in pain.  
"Thanks," he breathed out, before taking another leaf of his own and applied it to another spot.   
" _Shit_ ," he hissed, before pressing the leaf down against the wound and letting out another high pitched sound and a small series of frantic, dolphin-like clicking out of natural habit and reaction to the ointment. It was unintentional but slipped out nevertheless.  
Gavin jerked back a bit at all the noises, tilting his head as his feathers ruffled at the sounds nines made.   
"The hell is wrong with you?" He asked and tilted his head slightly in confusion.  
Nines shook his head, laughing at himself. "Sorry, it kind of slipped out. We have sounds used to communicate with one another, whether it be to express emotions or to alert others when something is wrong. It's just kinda an instinctual thing, I guess. Sorry."  
Gavin had to stop himself from laughing and he did, closing his eyes and letting out a breath to calm himself down, but a smile still tugged at his lips.   
"That's weird," he said in a teasing manner.   
"We can also sing," Nines responded with a grin. "The types of songs that put creatures into a trance so we can kill them." It was a joking, fake threat, just to get back for Gavin's joke. Gavin frowned at Nines' empty threat. "That's reassuring."   
"It's a defense mechanism, too, and it can also have healing properties, depending on the song."  
Gavin shook his head with a low grunt.   
"Maniac." He huffed. He moved back after a minute and sighed, curling up in the sand to rest for now. Gavin's gaze shifted back to the now wrapped arm wound.  
"Does it feel better now with the herbs?"  
Nines shifted his weight slightly.   
"It helped on the wounds that were more of a surface scratch, but the bite wound might take a while to feel completely better since it's a lot deeper. But I'm fine." He then scooted closer, running a hand through Gavin's feathers just for the heck of it.   
"What's the sky like? Flying?"

What caught Gavin off guard after listening to Nines was the hand raking gently through his feathers, his large wing flinching slightly at the touch as Gavin snapped his attention to Nines. He wanted to pull his wing away but his wing wouldn't move... he clearly liked the sensation.   
He looked away, trying not to blush.   
"It's... cool... I guess. You feel really free. It feels good." he muttered an answer softly.  
"I've always wondered what it was like to be up in the air," Nines hummed. "Until now, I've really never been up on land. I never needed to." He smiled softly, continuing to card his fingers through Gavin's feathers absentmindedly. "I'm happy I met you. I have my own shoal, but it's nice to change things up and meet others, avian or merfolk."  
  
Gavin was quiet for a while, closing his eyes with a soft relaxed sigh.   
"Maybe when I'm healed I can carry you around..." he muttered, meaning carrying Nines in the air. Nines chuckled at that suggestion.   
"I don't think you'd be able to lift me. You said it yourself- I'm heavy." He flexed his tail toward them, before letting it flop back down into the sand.  
Gavin found it calming listening to the merman talk, and the rubbing through his feathers which felt...really good.   
"I was never apart of a flock... I don't need one," he muttered and then sighed gently, "I'm glad to have met you too, though."  
Nines smiled, but he felt a small pit in his chest. His smile faltered.  
"Speaking of my shoal, I've been gone a long time. They might get worried..." he hated to leave Gavin right now, but in order to get there and back before the sun went down, he'd have to hurry. "I should probably go back and make sure they're all okay... I'll try to make it back by sundown, though. Are you okay here on your own?"  
Gavin listened to Nines silently and opened his eyes, pulling his wings into himself again and sitting up.   
"Sure. You should go back to them," he said and laid down in the sand again. He could use some downtime, it would give him a lot of time to rest.   
Without any further conversation, Nines nodded and hastily made it to the water without assistance, speeding off toward his shoal's territory.

Gavin watched the merman leave and then turned away with a small sigh. Now he was alone, on a large island he's never seen before. He laid in the sand with his arms crossed and his head down. It would be dark pretty soon, and Gavin was left in the cold sand wrapped in his wings, staring at the water as if waiting for the merman to reappear. He wondered what it would be like to see more merfolk... to see Nines's shoal.  
That was food for thought.

As Nines streaked through the water, he passed a pod of dolphins, and he let out a whistle to them in greeting.   
He continued to dive deeper, where the water became colder and the sunlight faded. He had to admit, because he was on dry, warm land, it was little bit of a shocker to feel the water get colder. His skin and body temperature in general was made for deep, deep water, but even then it sent a faint chill down his spine.   
He would get used to it soon enough though. Right now, he focused his attention on making sure he was going the right direction, planning what kind of excuse he would give to the shoal for his unexpected absence.


	4. Following the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As an oncoming storm approaches, Nines finally finds his shoal and informs them of his decision.

Gavin closed his eyes after a while. It was pretty boring here alone on the island. Another storm began to pick up as well, making the avian flinch and look up in fear, before a scowl painted itself across his face. Did he really need to have a storm make his night worse? He shuffled back away from the water and pushed himself under heavy giant leaves, trying to keep himself dry as the storm blew through, rain pouring relentlessly. He tried to close his eyes and go to sleep but knew that was a tough chance.  
  


* * *

Nines finally began to pass areas familiar to him, which encouraged him to speed up even more, feeling the nicest drift against his skin. He was almost home, his shoal would probably soon smell his scent being carried by the underwater currents.

The siren continued through the kelp forest. Just past this was a dip in the seafloor and a tunnel that connected to a large jutting rock formation serving as a wall. Past that was a large clearing, where most of the shoal lived in the narrow crooks and caves the eroded rock had to offer, and in the practically deteriorated cargo ship called _JERICHO._   
He knew his shoal would probably be resting from a hunt since it was evening.  
He decided to let out an experimental call, something to alert whoever was there of his arrival.

The sound of Nines' calls finally reached the other merfolk and slowly they called back and began to swim in the direction of Nines' voice.   
"Nines?" Connor called out, being the first one to appear with his glowing brown eyes, flecked with amber. At night, Connor's brown eyes seemed to glow a little bit golden in the water. His face lit up to see his brother, swimming over to him swiftly while slowly more of the shoal appeared in the distance.   
"You're alive! Where the hell have you been!?" Connor asked, resting in front of Nines, hands gripping the tiger shark's shoulders. They hugged, letting out coos of happiness, before Nines pulled back, his face breaking into a relieved smile.   
"Aww," he teased, "you were worried about me." But more seriously he added, "I've been um... exploring." That was a lousy excuse, but he couldn't think of any other valid excuse off the top of his head without giving away what he was actually doing. "And I uh," he probably should go a little more in-depth, "Found a hurt... turtle? I've been helping it heal." He probably could've done better, but that was what came to his mind.

Connor frowned as he listened to Nines, all the merfolk getting closer but staying back to let Connor talk to Nines.   
"A turtle?" Connor tilted his head with a frown, not buying the shitty lie. "If it was a turtle wouldn't you bring it back here? Why keep that a secret?" he said and swished his tail. He peeked up around Nines as if looking for something.   
"Can we see the turtle?" He asked, looking back at Nines.  
"It's not here," Nines shook his head.   
Shit, this was hard.   
"And it's probably gone now since it was feeling better. That's why I came back."   
Crap. How could he explain to them when he leaves again where on earth he was going?   
Nines hesitated. "Can I talk to you Connor, for a moment? Just us?" He glanced at the rest of the shoal.  
Connor frowned, a bit disappointed. He was curious, he wanted to see the turtle. But then he heard Nines and slowly nodded.   
"Sure," he said and looked back at all the other curious mers watching them. He made a movement with his hand and made the pod swim away for a bit.

"Okay.. what is it?"

Nines pulled a deep inhale of water through his gills to calm himself.  
"I... didn't want to tell the whole shoal the truth about where I was, and I know you're probably the only one who'll actually understand. Markus and the others... they're too protective. But truthfully, I've been helping an avian. He got grazed by a bolt of lightning in a storm and fell into the water far from shore. I saved him from drowning and have been helping him recover." He folded his arms, looking away. "I'm sorry I've been gone for a while."  
Connors listened intently and slowly his eyes widened excessively, especially when he heard Nines say avian. An _avian_?  
"An avian?...for real?" He asked, sounding both curious and amazed. He's never seen one up close, he wanted to see it now. "Where is it? Why would it be out here?" he questioned. "Did it hurt you? Is it fearful? Is it _mean_?" Nines was beginning to feel bombarded by all the questions being asked.   
"Can I see it?" Connor asked softly, curiously.  
Nines laughed, trying to process all of Connor's questions.   
"Yes, an avian. He's currently camping out in a small cove I found. Uh..." Nines paused. "He was... shocked on our first encounter, and attacked me out of self-defense. But he didn't really hurt me, no." Nines spared Connor the part where Gavin almost strangled him. "He's prickly, but not... mean, if you don't take what he says seriously. He's kinda like North when she's being sarcastic, except that's his constant mood."  
Nines hesitated on the last part though.   
"And... I don't know if you should see him or not. I think I should ask him first, you know?" Nines wasn't entirely positive on that part.

Connor listened to all the details, his excited expression faltering a bit as he heard that the avian was basically grumpy.   
"You sure..?" he asked, still kinda wanting to see the avian. He's never seen one before and he heard their wings are beautiful. Connor almost pouted at Nines, trying to give him the big brown puppy eyes.  
Nines frowned.   
"Just... let me ask Gavin first, okay? I'll need you to cover for me anyways while I'm gone, and maybe if you do that you can come to see him yourself. I need to go see Lucy anyways before I leave to get this bite wrapped."  
Connor whimpered in disappointment but sighed and slowly nodded his head.   
"Alright..." he muttered out and slowly swam away. He made a noise and called the shoal back over, in which they all came swimming back and crowding around Nines, making a bunch of clicking and cooing noises, all communicating at once and swimming around, welcoming him back.  
Nines responded accordingly, letting out his own series of calls. It felt nice being back, to talk to others in his mother-tongue, but he knew he had to go back soon, especially considering it was beginning to get really choppy further above.   
"I've missed you guys too," Nines smiled, but then said, "I need to go to Lucy for my arm."  
He felt bad for leaving so soon, but everyone seemed to understand.  
Saying goodbye, he departed from the shoal, swimming down to where Lucy's cave was.

"Lucy?" He called softly, looking around the dark cave.  
"Nines," the female called back, appearing from the shadows with her pitch-black eyes locked onto Nines.   
"It's good to see you've returned safely." She said, swimming and stopping in front of him. Seeing the wound on his arm, she immediately grabbed a sea slug and swiped some slime off of it, applying the very sticky goo over the wound which would seal it shut and prevent infections from getting in. "You fought with another shark, I see. Who started it this time? You, or the poor fish?"  
"He wouldn't leave me alone," Nines muttered bitterly, curling his lip ever so slightly. "I wasn't the one who started the fight, the damn fish did." He glanced at the wound, sighing. "It's not infected is it?"  
"It is not." the female said and pulled back, wrapping sticky kelp around it to help it stay shut and to keep bacteria or any hungry fish away. As she secured the wrap on his arm, her dark, perceptive eyes studied Nines' face.  
"You seem...compassionate. I sense your solicitude for something. Perhaps that creature you are caring for?" The mermaid spoke, seeming to already know what was up, slowly swimming back into the deeper part of her cave.  
"Oh, you heard?" Nines asked, slightly confused whether she was spying on Connor and him or heard about his turtle fib.   
"Uh, yeah, I guess it's that. I'm going back tonight." He didn't want to say anything else about it in case he was assuming the wrong thing.  
A soft, smile pulled at her lips.  
"I didn't know, only assumed. I know you have hidden compassion for others, you would most definitely abandon your pod temporarily to help someone in need." She spoke the truth and looked at Nines with a small nod.  
"Go back to him. He needs you."  
Nines didn't know what to say with that.   
" _He_."   
She knew, fuck, of _course_ she knew. This was _Lucy_.   
Stunned, he hesitated one last moment, before dipping his head in respect.   
"Thank you," he said, before turning and swimming off, saying a few goodbyes and _"I'll be back soon"_ s along the way. He had to be quick if he wanted to get there before sundown. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that he wasn't sure about when he'd come back. He didn't think his heart could handle it. He wasn't good at parting with those he let into his life.  
So he left the shoal, not once looking back.

He just hoped Gavin was doing alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I wish Lucy didn't die in the game, I absolutely loved her character.


	5. Idling in a Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines makes his way back to the island, but as he returns, a storm hits.  
> Gavin is a stressed out avian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a shorter chapter- the next chapter coming up is going to be longer!

The avian was still on the beach waiting out the storm as it continued to rage on. He was both freezing and soaking wet, considering the leaves he had been roosting under had broken away.  
He couldn't stand this. he could be on his homeland right now curled up in his canopy treehouse. But no, he had to be an idiot and come out here. The flashes of lightning and claps of thunder really scared the avian, making him flinch each time it would crack through the sky. He curled up under his wet wings and woefully waited for the siren to come back.

* * *

Nines swam as fast as he could, rocketing through the water. He had always been one of the fastest swimmers in his shoal. He thanked that now. Seeing the small expanse of island ahead, Nines let out a sigh of relief. He was done trying to fight through the angry toss and turn of the waves.  
The merman swam up to the rocks, and, as he had done many times before, using momentum to jump out of the water up onto land. Spotting the shape of the avian huddled under some palm leaves a little further up the beach, he smiled. He let out a trill of greeting, knowing that would carry much farther than spoken words alone.

Gavin could barely hear anything from all the rain, but he was able to hear the shrill sound from the merman. He flinched, letting out a defensive hiss as he curled up under his wings to hide, growling lowly to whatever just screeched at him. He didn't realize yet that it was Nines. He was frightened about the storm, irrationally worried he'd be hit by lightning again even though he was low to the ground.

Nines frowned, pulling himself toward Gavin. He jumped slightly in surprise as thunder rolled around him. He had to admit, storms were a lot more unpleasant above water. Louder, definitely, and since his ears were already highly sensitive it seemed even louder.  
"Gavin!" He called out again with words this time. He continued to pull himself over, muttering little curses as he dragged himself against the drenched sand.  
Gavin opened his eyes as soon as he heard the familiar voice, glancing over towards the water and seeing the merman coming towards him, giving off a displeased scowl directed at the shark.   
"It's about damn time!" He yelled, continuing to stay wrapped up under his large expanse of wings. He hated this storm, he wanted it to end. He was scared, and he hated how vulnerable he seemed at this moment.

Nines finally made it over, lifting up the leaves covering Gavin curiously.   
"Are you doing okay?" He asked, smelling a fearful scent coming from Gavin, even through the drenching smell of rain. "I'm sorry it took a while, but I'm back now."  
Gavin looked up at the merman with a shaky growl when he lifted the wet leaves off of him. Gavin was visibly shaking, both from fear and from the cold alike.   
"D-id you find them..?" he asked shakily, wincing and staying curled up under his wings, only his head peeking out from under the pinions.  
"I did," Nines nodded. "My brother didn't buy the turtle fib I came up with to explain why I was gone for a few days. I told him about you, and uh," Nines let out a small chuckle, "he wants to meet you at some point in time."  
Gavin listened closely to the merman and his eyes slowly widened as he realized someone, another _siren_ , wanted to meet him.   
"Uh..." he looked away, not sure. "I don't know..." he muttered. Another merman hanging around may just be a bit overwhelming for the still wounded avian. He'd have to get a little more used to Nines' presence first.   
Nines understood why Gavin didn't want to have two mers hanging around, which was precisely the reason he told Connor to wait until he asked.   
For now, this was enough stress on both of them, really.  
  


The storm slowly began to calm down after a while, and Gavin became less tense, closing his eyes and relaxing slightly as the thunder ceased to make any more sounds. He was freezing now, the cold rainwater and wind working harmoniously together, apparently to make him as soaked as fucking possible.   
"F-fuck..." his wet wings couldn't provide any warmth, no matter how tightly he enveloped himself in them in the attempt to warm his skin.  
The siren hesitated- Gavin currently looked both cold and scared. In cold temperature Nines' body warmth raised since he _needed_ to stay warm in the depths where sunlight's warmth didn't reach. But... he didn't know how Gavin would react, even to a mere hug to warm his body up. Nines knew the avian was prickly. He _WANTED_ to hug Gavin, both for comfort and for warmth but found himself frozen, unsure whether or not to actually act on his impulse.  
Gavin was freezing nevertheless, and becoming more aggressive because of it. He wasn't as used to the cold as Nines was; he spent his time huddled up in sheltered trees, or inside by the fireplace, especially during storms. This wasn't anywhere close to that, and he hated it. Nines' stare was starting to get annoying. He whipped around and turned his back on the merman suddenly, growling and shaking harshly in the cold, his wings beginning to flap away the water in irritation as more cold water beat down upon them.

Nines felt a pit in his chest for a moment as Gavin turned, feeling slightly rejected. He almost reached out until he caught himself, movement faltering, hand suspended in the air as he gazed helplessly at the avian. "I-" he again cut himself off, lowering his hand slightly. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid fish for hoping for something that probably wouldn't happen.  
Gavin wasn't thinking about anything but the cold at the moment. He was distressed and aggressive, his wound was in pain due to the nasty rainwater hitting it, feeling like a thousand needles hitting it every second. "What?!" He snapped, even if he didn't mean to, taking it back instantly as a sharp painful whimper cut past his lips. "T-this hurts!"   
Nines flinched, but said nothing.  
Gavin tried again to wrap up in his soaked wings, only making himself colder and wetter, shaky groans and whines leaving his lips every second. If only the trees were big enough on this island. They were tiny palm trees. Utterly useless.  
If the fear of the storm wasn't already enough, the soaked feeling sparked his fear of drowning once again.  
Nines, after finally seeing enough of the suffering bird gingerly came forward, and without really asking wrapped his arms securely around Gavin, looping his tail around the avian for even more security.   
Gavin did not expect to be touched or grabbed at all, letting out a shrill screech like sound and expanding his wings before they were pressed shut by Nines's arms.   
"What are you doing?!" He screeched out, feeling his legs become immobile due to Nines's tail wrapping around them like a boa constrictor.  
Nines hesitated, almost embarrassed about what he was about to do, but decided to sing the melody many merfolk sang to those who were afraid or were sick. It was known throughout the shoal- used for anyone in need of comfort. It was a hushed melody, no words, that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. It was slow, soothing, and Nines closed his eyes, letting his own song soothe his own troubled mind as well. It reminded him of his young minnow days, huddling close to Connor whenever their parents left for something dangerous.

Gavin struggled and thrashed for a while in the merman's grip until he heard the song, his eyes immediately widening as the song's effect immediately sank into the avians brain. It reverberated around him, seeping into his bones, hypnotizing him and calming him down. Gavin relaxed in the merman's arms, the soothing warmth of Nines' arms wrapped around him reaching him as he closed his eyes. He only focused on the song for the while, letting it ease him into a state of sleep.  
Nines' singing continued to pulsate softly, and his hand found its way to Gavin's hair, carding through the brunette locks. He really hoped this was okay, hoping he wasn't pushing any boundaries or anything... All he knew currently was that it had calmed Gavin down from his previous panicked and aggravated state.  
The avian was shaking softly now, nowhere near the violent shuddering he had been facing previously. He was still caught in the trance of Nines's song, utterly entranced. A weak whimper left his lips as the other combed through his hair, leaning into it with a soft whine. Then slowly Gavin lowering his head down once more and finally fell into a soft, comfortable sleep.  
Nines sighed lightly, letting his singing fade into a few lasting notes, holding Gavin close. Though he probably should sleep in the water, he couldn't stand leaving Gavin right as he was finally falling asleep. So, he got comfortable where he was, before closing his eyes himself and letting his mind drift into a dreaming state of mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Birds hate storms


	6. Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I can really say is that these two are idiots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot that this isn't up to date with Wattpad, where I actually write the story. If you want to read ahead you can do so [here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/193504230-a-misadventure%27s-fortune-reed900?utm_source=web&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share_myworks)

Nines awoke to the feeling of Gavin shifting, but he didn't open his eyes yet. Nines could already tell by his mildly dry skin that the rain had stopped overnight. He rather stubbornly wanted to stay here for a little while longer before retreating back to the water. He smiled, letting out a placid sigh.

Gavin moved more after a moment, grunting and moving slightly a little more, trying to flap his wet wings and wiggle out of the fish's hold.   
"Nines..." he griped and pushed on the merman's arms wrapped around him, wiggling his legs as well with soft grunts, jerking gently. "Let go..."  
Nines finally obliged, flopping down into the sand.  
"Fine."   
He was tired, and he now realized how weird it felt to be out on dry land for a long period of time. His gills were slightly salted over, uncomfortable and stinging slightly. If he didn't remove the blockage, he knew it would be bad. He let out a little hiss of discomfort, scraping against the fragile skin to try to get some of the salt off.   
"Crap," he spat, though he felt little regret for staying out as long as he did.   
Gavin shuffled back and sat up after a moment and looked down at the merman. The dried salt against his skin stood out, and his normally smooth skin appeared to be more withered than normal. His eyes widened in concern as he immediately moved and slowly picked up the merman before jumping into the air with a mighty flap of his wings, but proceeded to fall into the water, gasping as the cold water hit his body. On reflex he let go of Nines, wiggling out of the water and dragging himself back up onto the sand with a shaky huff.

Nines gasped at the sudden rush of cool water, but it felt _really_ good. He stayed under the surface for a few minutes, continuing to scratch irritably away at his gills in a maddened frenzy to get the caked salt off. After he finally relaxed, he let out a deep inhale in, then released it. He then poked his head out of the water and said, "Thanks."  
Gavin slowly sat up from where he had flopped over, looking winded. He looked down at the merman in the water and slowly nodded.   
"You're welcome," he muttered and closed his eyes slowly. He let out a soft groan. His wings were still damp with excess rainwater, so in order to try drying them out a bit, he resorted to laying on his belly in the sun, facing Nines.

Nines circled in the water, becoming somewhat antsy. Around this time his shoal would be going out to hunt.   
Nines caught movement in the corner of his eye - a crab, shuffling lazily below him. Nines grinned and dove down, and with careful, practiced hands, he picked it up and swam back to the surface, holding it above the water, until he decided to throw it at Gavin. He thanked his practice with throwing spears- the crab landed only about 2 feet away from Gavin's leg.

Gavin didn't notice the crab for a good minute, his bored gaze focused on the rippling of the water. It wasn't until he felt a sharp pain in his wing did he notice the crab pinched onto one of his feathers. He let out a loud yell and began flopping around like crazy, almost like a cartoon, flapping his wing around trying to fling the crab off his wing.   
"GODDAMMIT GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!!!"  
Nines, from his spot halfway submerged in the water, burst out laughing, a gleeful mixture of animalistic clicks mixing into his laugh. He couldn't help it, he didn't expect the events to unfold as they did. He continued laughing, a small whistling wheeze entering his voice.   
"Oh my-" He cackled, sinking under for a split second to regain himself, before popping back up, and in the flattest face he could muster, asked, "Are... you okay?" He couldn't suppress a shitty grin from capturing his lips.  
Gavin growled and jumped around, flopping around like crazy with muffled curses and yells until he finally pulled the crab off, losing a few feathers. Gavin huffed and looked at Nines with a low snarl before chucking the crab at the unsuspecting merman, the crab's burgundy red claw opening and snapping shut over Nines's nose in an instant.  
The siren let out a loud squawk of sound in alarm, before yelling and trying to yank it off. Siren noses were already sensitive as it is- he couldn't just be a careless and rip it off.  
Gavin grinned and immediately burst out into laughter at the sound Nines made, rolling onto his side clutching his stomach in laughter.  
Out of desperation, Nines dug his nails between the shell of the crab's claw, and with a breath in, he yanked it away from him, hearing a small crack and a pop as the whole arm came off. The claw was still stuck on his nose, but thankfully the crab was off, sinking back down to the ocean floor.   
The siren swam up to shore where he rested for a moment, working on trying to pry the rest of the fucking claw off his nose.  
"Haha it got you _GOOOOD_!" Gavin chanted and opened his eyes for a moment, but immediately bursted out laughing once more once he saw Nines with the single crab claw stuck to his nose.  
"KARMA, BITCH."  
The avian wiped a small tear from his eye before calming down again.  
  
Nines winced as he finally got the claw off his nose, flicking it into the sand.   
"Not cool," he frowned, already knowing his nose was bright red. But he couldn't stop it- he let out a little chuckle. "That was good aim, though, I must admit."  
Gavin looked back at Nines with a huge grin, chuckling under his breath.   
"Why thank you," he said confidently. "Most of us have good aim," he said, referring to avians. Some used spears, which requires good aim to be successful in wielding such weapons. The brunette got up and brushed the sand off his wings and body, letting out a small happy sigh and closing his eyes for a moment to calm down from the rush of adrenaline of the fading moment.  
"Do you know any other avians?" Nines asked curiously after Gavin's comment, pulling himself farther up on land, but still close enough for the waves to wash over his tail.  
"Our shoal's leader, Markus, goes to the port every once in a while to trade and talk with the locals, so I do know there's civilization." Nines knew that Gavin was solitary, but that didn't necessarily mean he didn't have friends.  
Gavin looked over at Nines again and sighed slowly.   
"Only one. Her name is Tina but I barely see her anymore," he muttered, kicking at the sand. "And Hank... I haven't seen him in a while, either. I stay away from everyone. I prefer to be alone," he huffed. But that was a lie, and as much as he hated to admit it, Nines was making that lie even more untrue than it had previously been.   
He needed a friend, or someone more, someone to hang out with. And now he had Nines... Gavin didn't want to be alone. He knew his flaws, though. He knew through every relationship he experienced, that he was good at really fucking things up.  
Nines raised an eyebrow.   
"So would you be lying if you said you didn't like hanging out with me?" Nines was curious enough to press deeper. "Because I can totally leave you if you wanted me to." Bait. Somewhere in his brain, Gavin registered this, but that didn't stop him from visibly tensing. He looked up from where he was kicking the sand and stared up at the merman, shaking his head quickly. "No! I-I mean... s-sure if you want to leave go ahead..." he muttered and looked away. One day he'd get over his pride and answer truthfully. It was fine... he understood how boring it could be to watch an avian slowly heal anyways.  
"I'm not going to leave," Nines murmured reassuringly. "I was just making sure you still wanted me around." He trailed his fingers through the sand, writing something in mermish. "You're an interesting avian, you know," he said in a teasing manner. "Usually you say something, but often I know you mean something else." That was something Nines had learned about Gavin since their time spent together. He understood it, he was similar in his own way, sometimes. Nines looked up to meet Gavin's gaze. "Am I right?"  
The avian kept his eyes off of Nines, a harsh blush beginning to form as he listened to the clever fish speak the truth.   
"M-maybe- just- fuck off!..." he sputtered out and faced Nines for a moment, his bright red cheeks now visible before he looked away again, wrapping up tightly in his wings to hide his face.  
Nines grinned, liking how flustered Gavin got. He pulled himself closer.  
"Aw," he nearly purred, propping himself up with his hands and leaning forward. "Is the birdie embarrassed?" Nines tried to gently move Gavin's wings aside so he could look at the avian's face. "Come on, I was just curious!" He let out a little breath of a laugh.  
Gavin let out a harsh hiss like sound as soon as the merman touched his wing, flinching back harshly and flapping away a few yards before collapsing against a leaning palm tree, keeping his wings up to block the merman's view of him.   
"Fuck off!"   
Gavin got defensive when someone knew how to play with his emotions, test them and pick at them... his feathers puffed, a clear sign of aggravation.  
Nines lowered his hand that was still suspended in the air, the smallest frown replacing his smile.   
"Fine, be like that then."   
He turned in dismissal, facing away from Gavin and focusing in on the sand. Picking up a few seashells, busying himself by chipping them into points, making it seem like he lost interest in Gavin for the time being. He said fuck off, so he'd fuck off. Nines glimpsed off into the distance every now and then, watching as the waves rolled onto shore. He let out a small sigh, examining the shell he was working on. 

What a strange avian indeed.

Gavin groaned lowly and he stayed how he was for a while, pressed up against a tree while still stubbornly wrapped in his wings. He really did know how to fuck everything up with his attitude. Nines was the only one that honestly ever seemed to care about him. He did not need anyone poking around at his feelings, however. They were for him to know and no one to find out until he said so. 

After a little while of idling, Gavin slowly unfurled from his cocoon of wings, hugging his knees tightly to his chest, his face pressed tightly into his knees with a uneasy look plastered upon it. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the breeze ruffle through his feathers. 

Nines continued to chip away at the seashell until it was at a perfect point. Then he set it down and reached for another one, but instead of working on ruining its beauty right away, he just examined it. Maybe he'd keep this one. He looked back around to Gavin finally and tentatively asked, "are you alright? I'm sorry if what I did upset you..."  
Gavin opened his eyes slowly as he heard Nines speak to him, lifting his head up a little bit with a low, shaky sigh.   
"It's fine," he muttered flatly, looking away to stare at some small crabs scuttling along the sand.   
"I'm... sorry..." he then grumbled, sorry for ruining the fun, even though it had frustrated him a little bit. Nines acknowledged Gavin's apology with nothing but a hum.

  
The rest of the day was spent lazing around on the beach, Nines retreating to the water after a while. They mostly kept to their own devices, besides an occasional casual remark or two. By dusk, Gavin couldn't hold back his growing hunger anymore. After seeking out some crabs, he pounced, crushing them while preserving the delicious meat. 

He slowly scooted back to his little spot and sat down, grabbing some wood and rubbing it together to create a fire. He then carefully began to cook both crabs over a stick. He licked his lips subconsciously, ready to eat, but his eyes wandered to Nines, feeling a bit selfish eating in front of him. He grabbed the biggest crab on the stick that was already fully cooked and tossed it at Nines, proceeding to silently to cook the smaller crab for himself.

Nines had been curious as Gavin rubbed the sticks together, his nose twitching as he smelled the smoke of the burning wood. He then flinched as the fire began to rise- he hadn't seen fire before, or at least not this close before. It was both anxiety-inducing and intriguing at the same time. He flinched as Gavin threw the crab over to him, catching it.   
"Thanks," he murmured. He was curious about how the crab would taste after being cooked. But that thought was stilled to a halt as he sat, transfixed by how to flames lapped at the night air and crackled every once in a while. Tension seeped into his body as he eyed the growing flame.  
"Mhm," Gavin hummed lowly, pulling his crab apart, sucking the meat out of its legs and swallowing. He hummed in delight- it was really good. Saltwater gave crabs good flavor, he had to admit.   
Gavin glanced at Nines and noticed him being a bit twitchy with the fire. Frowning slightly, Gavin lightly tilted his head.   
"What, have you never seen fire before?" He asked, staring back at the fire. He grabbed a stick that had a torchlike flame blazing at the top and held it up.  
That caused an immediate reaction from Nines.  
The siren shrunk back a little, scowl more evident on his face now as he eyed the flame warily. He looked genuinely like he was about to evacuate to the water at any off-moment.   
His voice was wary as he eyed the torch in Gavin's hand.   
"I've seen it in the distance, but I've never been this close to it before. I know it's dangerous though. One of the mermen in the shoal got his face burned by a human's torch. We have been taught since we were little to stay away from it."  
Gavin swayed the torch he made around back and forth and then looked back at Nines with a little smirk. He earned a hearty growl from Nines.  
"It's not dangerous if you know how to control it," Gavin said as he stood up, slowly moving over to Nines and holding the torch out in front of him. "Just don't touch the flames like an idiot, hold it from the bottom," he stated simply.  
Nines recoiled, eyes dilating slightly as he gazed at the flame. The heat felt unnatural so close to his skin, and it made him bristle involuntarily. "I don't-" he eyed it with great caution, as if at any moment Gavin would attack him with it. It was an irrational fear, he knew Gavin had no intention of attacking him. Maybe scaring him a bit, but he'd never _attack him._ but Nines was hesitant nevertheless.   
"Are you sure this is safe?"   
"Yes it's safe," the avian reassured the best he could, with an uncharacteristically sincere tone to his voice. "If you get too scared just drop it in the water and it'll go away. It probably won't even hurt you since you're so wet. The flame would just die if it touched you, probably." He grabbed Nines' hand without further discussion and pressed the stick into his hand. 

Nines let out a small hiss of surprise at the action, hand gripping the stick. He shook slightly as he looked at the flames, both scared and fascinated. He had been warned about fire many times, considering how dangerous it was to certain mer's skin types, and how the smoke affected gills and lungs. But the fear was fading slightly as he continued to hold it, though his muscles didn't cease to relax.   
"It's... pretty... I guess," Nines said quietly, tilting his head slightly.  
Gavin watched and sat back. He couldn't break his gaze away from how the fire reflected in Nines' eyes, blue mixing with gold.  
"Yeah well... it's warm and produces light too. It's useful," he stated as he sat back and watched, curious on how Nines was reacting to it. "You can't use it underwater as you already know, but if you're cold on land you can always make it to warm up, just make sure it doesn't touch anything else other than the sticks you're using." he explained.

Nines nodded, acknowledging what Gavin was telling him.  
"We learned that as we learned how to fight. We also learned that breaking oil lamps is a great way to set a ship on fire. And that water will often cause a fire if it comes in contact with any sort of wires or form of electricity." Nines laughed. "The last part was kinda something one of our strong sirens, North found out." Then a frown returned. "But of course, it has been used in various dangerous ways, too. Did you know the smell of burning kelp is greatly offensive to merfolk?" Nines smiled. He had calmed down and finally offered the torch back to Gavin.

Gavin listened to Nines and just tilted his head at everything. Gavin didn't associate with any avian sailors or humans for the matter. He hated humans, even though he was basically a human with wings. Humans often illegally killed avians for their wings. It was like a sick trophy, a decoration to be put up on a wall alongside animal heads and antlers.  
"I didn't know that..." he muttered and slowly took the torch back. He just slowly scooted himself back to his fire, dropping the torch in it once again before adding more sticks and leaves to it to make it bigger until it turned into a tiny bonfire, slowly curling up close to it to stay warm.  
Nines watched as the fire grew larger, and let out a small sigh.   
"It's strange," Nines said, then expanded, "The fire's warmth..." He tilted his head and smiled softly, closing his eyes. "The ocean is usually pretty cold, though sometimes we find underwater thermal vents where hot water comes through from the underwater volcanos deep down." It was really soothing, and Nines was starting to get drowsy from the pleasant temperature heated his drying skin.  
Gavin looked back at Nines from where he was laying down, smiling a bit. "You can get closer, just stay close to the water..." His attention piqued at the mention of underwater volcanoes, which sounded awesome. "Damn, I'd love to see an underwater volcano," he muttered and closed his eyes, drowsiness claiming him. Slowly, he fell asleep, in the warm sand by the fire, no longer talking as he drifted off.  
Nines was going to respond to Gavin's comment, but upon realizing Gavin had fallen asleep, he tilted his head, a fold smile capturing his lips. He scooted closer, running his fingers lightly through Gavin's feathers one last time before he huffed out the smallest laugh.   
"Good night, Gavin." He murmured, before turning and returning to the water to sleep himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie hydrothermal vents are cooool.


	7. Leaving to Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A choice is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I quite honestly forgot to update here, I have like 3 more chapters I haven't posted but are posted on Wattpad, so you can go check that out if you're impatient.

Nines was awake bright and early, as usual, swimming and exploring the areas around the island. He knew Gavin would be awake by now, so he decided to catch the avian something for breakfast. He stuck his head into a crevasse of a rock, searching for a crab or something else of that nature. Bingo- Nines reached in and swiftly grabbed one, killing it before it could clamp onto him. He looked back into the dark wedge of rocks but pulled back in surprise when he saw the bright red colors of an octopus. The siren must have stolen the cephalopod's prey.   
The creature was startled, obviously, and released a cloud of ink right at Nines' face. He jerked back away from the dark billow of ink and immediately swam to the surface, trying his best not to inhale the dark liquid through his gills.   
Wonderful.   
At least he got the crab.

"Gavin!" Nines called, wiping his mouth and face of the ink. "I caught a crab!"

Gavin had just been gradually waking up as Nines appeared, his wings slowly stretching out to their full length and his body stretching like a cat with a heavy yawn. He groaned and slowly looked up at Nines but held in a snark as he saw Nines's face covered in ink.   
"What did-" he then saw the crab and jerked back, wrapping his large wings around himself. "I swear to fucking god if you throw that thing at me again," he growled, eyeing up the crab aggressively.  
"I'm not, I'm not," Nines said while rubbing his eye. "Here just take it," Nines frowned, squinting to make sure the ink didn't drip into his eyes. "I can't fucking see," he groaned.  
Gavin got up slowly and walked over to Nines and sat down in front of him and took the crab and sat back. He tilted his head with a huff as he watched Nines struggle with the ink, throwing water at the merman's face to wash off the ink.   
"Use the water, dumbass," he huffed in amusement, fiddling with the crab in an attempt to pull off its legs.  
Nines sputtered at the water splashed at him. "I know, I just wanted to give that to you first so it wasn't poisoned or anything," Nines dunked his face and began scrubbing, irritated. Ink was a pain to get off, both because it was important was off as soon as possible while avoiding breathing it in.   
Gavin shook his head with a grin as he watched Nines. He got up and walked back to the dying embers, throwing more driftwood into the fire to get it going again. 

Once there was a flame he put the crab over a stick and began to cook it. As soon as it was done he grabbed it and sucked all the meat out of the legs, pulling open the middle and scraping whatever meat he could out of the middle of the crab. It wasn't much, but it was good enough. Gavin stretched once he was done, hands reaching his toes as he fanned out his wings. The pain was almost fully gone, condensed down to an almost unnoticeable ache now. His eyes widened as he realized it, and he sat back up and stared at his wings.   
He had to try...   
The avian began to beat them up and down, testing them out, before he ran and took a flying leap up into the air, his wings carrying him off the ground. He let out a happy chuckle, hovering in the air just like he used to.   
"Fucking finally!!" He cheered and flew a few tight circles along the expanse of beach. He could go home now! He could finally go home!

Nines had finally managed to wash off the ink and was now watching as Gavin flew around, a grin capturing his lips.   
"Looking good!" He called. "How do you feel?"   
He was happy for Gavin, happy he was able to fly again, but there was an odd, indescribable feeling in his chest. Flying meant that Gavin could go home. Flying meant Gavin could leave. And that... wasn't a good thought. Nines liked Gavin- he didn't want him to leave.   
But he did what he did best.   
He hid it.

Gavin stopped flapping about and hovered in the air, looking down at Nines with a grin.   
"Feeling as good as before!" He huffed and glided down towards the water, skimming his wings across the ripples of waves before flying back up into the air, grinning as his sense of direction returned. His home was north.   
"Well it's been fun but I've got to hit the road fish boy. See ya!" He called and took off, flying north and away from the little cove.

Nines watched Gavin take off, that feeling of a hole in his chest growing larger.

_He's leaving... just like that?_

Nines sat there for a while, nails digging into his palms. Of course Gavin would leave. Nines didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, did he? Did Gavin even see Nines as a friend at all? The siren, as soon as Gavin was far enough away, let out a frustrated, pale screech and turned around in the water, swimming away, down to the seafloor a little ways away from the cove. He couldn't bring himself to leave the area yet, and he didn't want to have the shoal sense his frustration, so Nines decided it was best to stay here.   
Alone.   
He didn't know what to do anymore. How could something end so abruptly?  
He just drifted along, trying to cool down and fight off the urge to go attack something like he sometimes did.  
Curse his shark genes, and curse Gavin for making him feel this way.

* * *

Gavin flew for only a few minutes before something made him slow down, until he came to a near sudden halt in the air. The island was still very close to him, and he slowly turned around to look at it. Gavin felt a punch to the gut as he looked, to the point of it nearly physically hurting. He bit his lip with a distressed expression, flinching as he heard the screech wafting through the air from below.   
He knew that was Nines, god he felt like a jackass.  
He... really like Nines. A lot. He felt awfully remorseful about the fact that he just got up and left without saying anything. Why the fuck did he do that? Talk about being a jackass. The avian shook his head with a growl and looked back at the island with a small whine. He's such an asshole, Nines probably definitely agreed, but with his mind made up he quickly but hesitantly flew back towards the island.

Flapping his wings gently as he came to a soft landing by the water, Gavin looked around. He could understand if Nines was pissed and just flat out left as well, he couldn't exactly blame the siren for it.  
He slowly sat on his knees and leaned towards the water with a small shaky sigh. Nines couldn't have gone too far... could he?   
"Nines?...."  
His voice was uncharacteristically weak sounding as he looked for any signs of the shark.   
"I-... I'm sorry...." he said softly, looking down in shame, his wings curling around his body reflexively.   
"Thank you... so much for everything you did for me... for dealing with me and my asshat of a personality, for helping me out, for being there for me..." he said, a shaky chuckle leaving his lips before he silenced and sighed shakily, keeping his head low to the ground.

Nines, from where he had been lurking out if sight finally decided to surface, hearing how remorseful Gavin was for his actions. Gavin's eyes slowly opened as he heard water stirring and there Nines was, his crystalline blue eyes gazing at him intently.  
Nines barely breached the surface of the water as he looked at Gavin. "I forgive you," he said softly. "And even if you're a pain sometimes, I like being with you."   
Nines looked away after a moment, however, as if he was attempting to hide the emotions that were trying to push themselves through.   
This wasn't easy.   
"You... came back," he pointed out. "I.... why? You could be well on your way home. It's what you wanted, right?"  
Gavin was a bit shocked at first before he managed to speak.  
"I- yeah I...I just felt like a dick for leaving you without a proper goodbye..." he muttered and looked away with a soft groan.   
"I..." he thought carefully for a while. "I don't know if it's what I want..." he admitted quietly.  
Nines smiled lightly, swimming over to rest against the rocks.   
"I'm happy you came back," Nines said in a near whisper, before looking down. "But I don't want to keep you from going home if you want to go. I'm not important," he said carefully. "Do what you want, don't let me burden you at all." Nines didn't want to keep Gavin here against his will, even if he so desperately wanted the avian to stay.

Gavin closed his eyes and let his head hang once again, breathing shakily. He was barely regarded back home anyways. No one talked to him, nor did he talk to many other avians in return. And of course, he really liked Nines. He didn't want to leave his only friend, the only person he's ever talked to or the only person that's ever actually cared for him.

"I don't want to go..."

Nines seemed mildly taken aback by Gavin's statement.  
"You want to stay here?" He thought for a moment. "Or... I could come with you? Go back to your homeland and live near the coast? I don't know...." Nines wanted to stay with Gavin. "I don't know," Nines repeated, "But I want to stay with you." He hoped that didn't sound too mushy- though it was the truth. Nines laughed at himself. "Sorry, that sounded weird."  
Gavin shook his head.   
"I really don't want to go back there alone... " he muttered solemnly. He knew the island wasn't ideal, and it wouldn't supply him for long, based on its small size. "But you shouldn't abandon your family for me," he muttered sincerely.  
Nines tilted his head. "My shoal will be okay without me, at least for a little while. They have Markus, and even when he leaves, North and my brother run things pretty well. Plus," Nines laughed, "Sometimes I scare the others."  
Gavin raised an eyebrow at Nines.  
"I can't say I'm surprised," he huffed as he sat up. He pondered the idea of building a temporary shelter here, but there were no materials for it, nor did he have enough energy to do so. He'd need time to do so, but there was a limit to resources on the island. Going back to the mainland seemed to be the best option in the long run.  
"I'd say I could build a temporary shelter here, but I can't really build anything right now. I have no energy," he frowned.  
"I need more than just fish to eat, and I need time to recover."  
"I don't know much about what you guys eat on land, so you're kinda on your own with that. There's nothing here, so I think going back to mainland is the most reasonable option given the situation. We could try to go to the ports and markets too. Markus told us he's tried a lot of strange foods from there. And I could follow you since they have canals for mers to swim around in the town. I know my pod isn't very open to larger mixed civilization, but it doesn't hurt to try. I'm curious about lifestyle on land."

Gavin's wings seemed to flinch and puff slightly at the mention of markets, looking away with a low groan.  
"No. Humans often come to integrated villages like that.... they are terrible. They raid ports occasionally and if there are any there, they will hunt us down and kill us or have us be skinned like animals once we are outside the safety of the port. I'm not going to a market just for food." he stated finally. Plus, natural food was better.   
"Fresh deer is better anyways. There's a lot of animals you could taste on my land. Deer, turkey, boar, squirrel. A lot. And there are some fruits as well," he added. His mouth watered at the thought of all that food. Then his stomach growled, making him flinch with a small yip, looking down at it in embarrassment.  
"Well, then we should go. I am going to bet you will get sick of eating fish at _some_ point." Nines insisted. "I want you to be somewhere you belong, and a small island is no place for a bird like you."   
Gavin sat back, looking away, before finally muttering out an "okay."  
The siren _was_ curious about the land creatures and foods. "It'll be interesting tasting food that isn't salty or doesn't taste like fish," Nines mused, then observed the sky.   
"We can leave at dawn tomorrow."  
Gavin glanced down at Nines with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything other than a small grunt of agreement. Part of him didn't know if he was prepared to fly for a long period of time, yet. He had been flightless for nearly a week and still recovering. But pushing those worries aside, he mentally prepared himself for their journey ahead.


	8. Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two set out for mainland and end up bonding even more in the process...

Nines and Gavin left early the next morning, knowing it would be a long day of travel. Gavin was as prepared as he felt he could be. With a mighty beat of his wings, they were off, ready to begin their journey ahead.  
  


"I know some rest stops along the way!" Nines called, now that he knew what direction Gavin's home was. "Tell me whenever you need to take a break, I know of some tiny islands and areas where rocks jut out of the water you can land on."

Gavin was already breathing heavily as he flapped his wings, looking down at the merman with a small frustrated groan that wasn't directed towards Nines at all. He looked back up and focused on the sky in front of him, flapping and gliding to preserve energy. "Yeah, yeah," he groaned softly. He had to admit, it felt nice to be back up in the air. It was refreshing to get away from the ground and to feel the early morning air hit his skin.

Nines continued to swim quickly below, knowing well enough that he would have to pause every once in a while to give himself a break. Tail cramps were the worst, and he definitely didn't want to deal with those. Nines puffed out a little breath, whistling to a whale that he saw up ahead out of respect. Noting the currents, temperature, and their overall location, he knew that there would be a small rock outcropping in about a half-hour traveling at this pace. He readily swam onward, making that a goal for them to reach.  
  


20 minutes had passed, and Gavin was getting tired, fearing the possibility of his wings cramping up. He growled as they began to feel progressively stiffer, but he kept pressing onward, flapping them with more labor involved as he grew exhausted. He needed a place to land or he'd crash in the water again. His eyes scanned around desperately for any sort of place to land. He was losing altitude, he could tell, the water seemingly getting closer than he would like.   
Seeing Gavin start to decline in the air, Nines knew they had to stop soon.   
"It's just up ahead!" Nines called out in reassurance. "Do you think you'll make it? You could try to land on my back or something if you need to," Nines said. "I could probably support your weight if you really need it."   
Gavin looked down at Nines as he panted. "Fuck no! I'm too heavy- you'll sink!" He huffed and kept flapping, trying hard to stay up. He saw the little island ahead. With a burst of energy in seeing the outcropping of land, he flapped hard, gaining speed as he flew towards it. His landing was anything but graceful as he fumbled into the warm sand, but he couldn't care less as he lay limply by the water with low whines of pain and harsh pants.

Nines reached the area just off the shore of the small island, where he pulled to a halt, sucking in the water through his gills in heavy breaths. His tail felt numb after swimming so fast for a long period of time. He was far more used to either a steady drifting speed or short bursts of speed. Nines laughed to himself, and when he finally caught his breath, he let the waves push him up onto the shore, where he spotted Gavin in the sand.   
"Are you alright?" He called breathlessly.  
Gavin didn't answer for a while, more focused on trying to catch his breath. He offered Nines a painfully high pitched whine, trying to sit up but collapsing once again. His wings were sprawled out to their full giant length, one lightly dipped in the water. Gavin couldn't move them, they were to sore. His healing back injury didn't prove to be beneficial to his situation either.  
"We'll rest here for a while," Nines stated, observing Gavin's current state. "I could try and find some fish to eat and some herbs for the pain." He didn't feel like it was a good idea leaving Gavin alone for long periods, especially when there could be some lone, prissy sirens waiting for some "fun". But it was better than feeling like he was doing nothing.

"Nooo...." Gavin groaned. He was already full from their meal earlier. He didn't feel like moving- his wings were so sore, the muscles tense. They needed to be rubbed out or something to loosen them back up. "I don't want any food..." he muttered, voice muffled from the sand. He didn't move an inch, his wings occasionally spasming and twitching.  
"Then uh," Nines pulled himself up to where Gavin had flopped over. He watched Gavin's wings let out a particularly violent shake. "How about this?"   
Gavin raised his head in confusion, before flinching as Nines gingerly took Gavin's right wing with careful hands. Gavin tried to pull away, being slightly defensive of his sensitive wings.   
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" He spat as he attempted to sit up and look at Nines. The siren paid him no mind and began massaging the muscle with extreme caution. Gavin's struggling soon diminished as he slowed down and actually focused on the feeling, his expression going softer to reflect that of bliss and content, a near whimper escaping his lips as his body forced him to lay back down, allowing Nines to skillfully knead into his sensitive wing.  
Nines snorted slightly at Gavin's reaction but continued working on Gavin's wing.   
"I have a lot of practice with massages," Nines mused with a fond smile. "Sometimes us merfolk get tail cramps and soreness along our backs and shoulders. Connor always finds me when he gets them. He insists that I'm good at it." Nines shrugged, before tilting his head slightly. "I hope this is fine with you," he proceeded, now unsure. "Just... tell me if I'm ever crossing boundaries, okay?"  
Gavin remained quiet with small grumbles escaping from his lips. He tried so hard not to be completely satisfied with the rubs, holding back purrs.   
"W-whatever." He managed to murmur out, a small purr resonating in his chest before he flinched and breathed to hide it up, keeping himself from purring. Yes, _maybe_ the grumpy bird could purr, sue him.   
It was enough to get Nines raising a brow at least, hearing the beginning of the purr. He let out another breathless laugh but was merciful and spared Gavin from teasing. Before he switched to the left wing he stopped, looking at the scarring on Gavin's back, letting his fingers trail down it for a second.   
Gavin visibly tensed, letting out a sharp growl of alarm.   
"Don't touch it!" He spat defensively before his growl tapered off, his body shaking slightly. It had scared Gavin a bit, he didn't expect Nines to touch his still semi healing wound.   
"Sorry," Nines murmured in apology. "I was just making sure it wasn't infected," He explained.   
It wasn't hot, at least, meaning it wasn't infected. He let out a light sigh, then began working on the other wing.

Gavin had really tensed up when Nines traced over his wound, though his body slowly relaxed again as he felt the massages on his other wing. He soon found himself again letting out a very small groan of pleasure, letting his head drop into the sand.  
Nines' mind drifted, thinking about the shoal and wondering if he should have said a proper goodbye to Connor. He wasn't good at that sort of thing, so his brother would probably understand. He wasn't sure when he was coming back honestly. The mainland was fairly far away from the shoal, and he wanted to stay with Gavin for as long as possible.  
"Do you think you can make it? Or should we stay here for the night?" Nines asked Gavin, breaking the calm silence. He wanted to make sure the avian wasn't pushing himself too hard, but he knew that a stranded avian and a lone mer away from their shoal wasn't always 100% safe.  
Gavin panted and slowly sat up, pulling his wing away from Nines and curling up in the warm sand. It was getting close to sunset, and he knew some rest would be good.   
"No, I need sleep," he groused and sat up again, grabbing some giant leaves from one of the sad-looking palm trees and some driftwood before rubbing them together to make a fire. Laying a leaf down to lay on, he situated himself so he was by the fire but also within proximity of the water so he was close to Nines.  
Nines let out a soft, relaxed breath, closing his eyes for a moment as the fire grew, warm against his cool skin.   
"I can keep watch," he said as he watched as the sunset painted the sky in flashes of orange and red. "You can sleep."   
Gavin looked over at Nines and shook his head. "You need sleep too, shark boy," He huffed, poking at the fire absentmindedly.   
He had an idea on how Nines could sleep on the sand without drying out. Seaweed was good at staying wet, so if he just... Gavin stood and walked down to the water. Wading in the shallows, Gavin ripping up a bunch of seaweed and then moving back over to Nines. He dropped the seaweed on the merman and then layered it with the palm leaves to both cover him and keep him both wet and warm. It was makeshift, nothing compared to wetting a towel, but it would have to do. Nines had been confused during the whole ordeal, but he finally realized that it was supposed to keep him from drying out too much. Nines smiled, rearranging them slightly.   
"Thanks." He shifted, laying on his back and looking up at the sky, letting out another long exhale. He decided he'd pretend to sleep, then sit back up and keep watch from where he lay. He'd much rather keep Gavin safe and any potential threats away then leave them vulnerable. So he waited.  
Gavin slowly laid back down on his leaf mat and wrapped up in his wings to keep warm since he gave Nines the leaf he was using as a blanket.   
"Night..." he grumbled tiredly before falling asleep.   
"Goodnight, Gavin," Nines replied quietly. 

After waiting for a few minutes, assuming Gavin was finally asleep, he sat back up. He couldn't suppress a small sigh from escaping him as he looked over at the sleeping avian. Was it the right choice to leave? Nines liked Gavin a lot, but was that a valid reason to leave his shoal? Nines disregarded his doubts. Of course, they'd be fine without him. They had North, Simon, Connor, Josh, and Markus. Nines looked back up at the stars, then closed his eyes, pulling in a deep breath. He relaxed, intent on staying up. He wanted to keep an eye out just in case, for the sake of Gavin's safety and his own.   
He'd go to sleep... in a little while.

The night was quiet except for the occasional waves brushing the surface, the crackle of the fire once and a while as the embers slowly died to little glowing balls of wood, no more flames sparking to life.

* * *

Gavin woke up early in the morning before the sun even rose, sitting up with a huff and looking around, glancing at Nines for a moment before groaning and looking away. His wings were extremely sore now, and sitting up and stretching them out hurt like hell.   
"Jesus- fuck!" Gavin cursed sharply with discomfort, looking at them and growling softly with another small whine. He looked at Nines and nudged him with his hand, shaking the shark in an attempt to wake him up.   
"Hey! Shark boy! Wake up and rub my wings!" He huffed needly, keening at the pain in his sore muscles. He was desperate for it to go away, he had already been in enough pain already.

Nines had fallen asleep at some ungodly hour, after finally deciding he should sleep some. He didn't really want to wake up now- some part of his brain seemed to be attempting to reel him into consciousness, and another half seemed to fight against it. He shifted slightly, already feeling the soreness of his tail. What another wonderful reason to not get up yet.   
Another shake from the avian resulted in a hollow-sounding whine from the siren, wanting to keep sleeping a little while longer. But after a second he finally cracked opened his eyes a bit. "Mm..up," he mumbled, closing his eyes again as he yawned, showing off a wonderful display of dangerously sharp teeth. He finally gained enough energy to sit up and let out a small groan. "Wh.." He attempted to blink away his tiredness. "Okay, gimme your wing..."  
Gavin perked a bit when the mer finally woke up, giving him his wing and flopping down beside Nines with a playful grin and purr. Nines tail curled subconsciously closer to Gavin as he began working the kinks out.

Gavin looked at the merman's tail and tilted his head. He always wanted to know what they feel like. Before he could process what exactly he was doing, Gavin slowly reached out and brushed his fingers over the soft tail, giving it an experimental squeezing and playing with it curiously.  
"What are you doing..." Nines mumbled, flicking his tail in the slightest hint of annoyance. Gavin grabbed Nines's tail more purposefully and hugged it to his body. It was satisfying to press into.   
"Being annoying, clearly," he said back as he rubbed his hands over Nines's pectoral fins and brushed a hand over those sharp shark scales. His hand then trailed to Nines's soft underbelly, hand gliding along it, loving how smooth and soft that part of the tail was.  
Nines let out a small groan of defiance, but quickly began to relax more and more into Gavin's touches. Normally merfolk wouldn't let just anyone touch their underbellies, considering it was a more vulnerable area, but Nines trusted Gavin, not to mention his flat out unwillingness to tell the avian to stop. He did squirm slightly when Gavin squeezed, and he took a steadying breath, closing his eyes. "Gavin," he said lowly, gritting his teeth ever so slightly. It was a hollow warning nonetheless, considering he didn't care too much.  
Gavin ignored Nines's warning, giving the underbelly another squeeze and then tracing a finger over it and patting it teasingly. Nines proceeded to shiver involuntarily, earning a shit-eating grin from Gavin.  
"Did you know if you flip a shark over it falls into a state of paralysis? Can that happen to you?" He wanted to do that to Nines so badly, just to mess with him. Then he could touch his belly as much as he wanted to.  
"Tonic immobility?" Nines hesitated with whether to answer Gavin. He then looked away. "Yeah, it can for me at least, since I am directly related to tiger sharks. Some crosses with normal fish don't work, though." Nines ran a hand through his hair in thought. "Sharks have electro-receptors around their snout and head, and when touched is really what puts them into the trance. I... I have them along my cheek and temples." Nines laughed, closing his mind at some memories. "Sometimes shoal members I'm close to have to put me into that trance if I get too aggravated every once in a while." He laughed, before looking back at Gavin. "I don't know if it could work on land...you'd have to pin me down probably for it to work correctly, then press against my temples." Nines was actually fairly curious about if it would work on land, and he didn't mind testing it sometime.

Gavin listened to Nines out of boredom and yawned as he told him facts he already knew. He shook his head and cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as Nines explained how to do it on himself. Gavin would love to try it... love to try it now... he nodded and pretended like he didn't care, waiting for Nines to be distracted with his wing. Nines, after finishing talking to Gavin, had continued to work on Gavin's wing, not expecting the avian to try the tonic immobility on him right then. But before he could comprehend what was happening, Gavin pounced and grabbed the shark's arms, pushing him over. Nines let out a jumbled sound of surprise and tried fighting back, but Gavin had the upper hand. Once he wrestled the shark onto his back he pressed his wings down against Nines' arms to keep them still, he grinned evilly down at the shark. "Lights out," He smirked and pressed his thumbs over Nines' temple, massaging it slowly.   
"Wh-" Nines' words cut short, catching in his throat the moment Gavin pressed his thumbs against the sensitive spots on his temple. The last sound he made was a stuttering gasp, gills fluttering under reflex, before going completely lax under the avian's weight. His mind went hazy, and his sight blacked out.

Gavin purred softly at Nines and caressed his cheek where more of those spots were, just like Nines told him. He grinned and chuckled in amusement and victory as he successfully immobilized Nines, leaning down to one of his ears.   
"You think it was a good idea telling me exactly how to do this?" He chuckled and shook his head at the shark before getting up and off of him, walking away and leaving Nines there. It was so funny to him, and he had trouble holding back laughs. He wondered how long Nines would stay like that.

All the sounds seemed far away in Nines' head, and any thoughts seemed like they'd appear but before he could really actually think, the thought would dissipate. The haze didn't go away for a while, no, he cursed his lack of sleep last night. He let out a pale whine, trying to grasp back onto the thread of reality. His limbs tingled, but with his senses slowly regaining themselves, he realized that Gavin had gotten off of him. His finger twitched, but his muscles were still too loose to do much. "G...avin," Nines drawled, feeling like his mind was all static. "Put... me in the water," he groaned. Maybe a rush of water would help him recover faster. He finally was able to open an eye, though it was faded around the edge as it did right before you fainted.

Gavin heard the whine from Nines and burst out laughing like crazy, flapping his wings in joy. He then stopped and looked down at Nines with a stupid grin, hearing his request.   
"Aw of course dear~" he hummed, pretending to sound innocent. He scooped up the shark like a damsel and moved waist-deep into the water and gently set Nines in the water. But Gavin, being the little shit he was, kept Nines on his back and gently caressed over his cheek and temple again.   
"Now you rest up good~ don't need you drying up on the beach~" he hummed with fake care in his voice before laughing and walking out of the water, leaving Nines immobilized once again.  
Nines let out another strangled whine, his eyes rolled back and closed as he once again fell into the trancelike state. He just floated there, washing back and forth with the rhythm of the waves, mind a blank slate. Internally he nearly wanted to cry for help, not wanting to be in such a haze, but he couldn't do anything.  
Gavin once again broke down laughing. He almost felt a little bad, but at the same time, this was hilarious. He laid in the sand and chuckled non stop at Nines's whines.   
"Oh relax you're fine!" He called back to the limp merman, grinning at him stupidly.

Avians had sensible spots too. A nerve between their wings could make them freeze and collapse for a while, making their wings stick out stiff and frozen. Not that Gavin would tell Nines that anytime soon.

Nines finally gained motor control after a few more minutes of helpless floating, and pulled himself up to shore and sat there for a moment, holding his head in his hands, taking stabilizing breaths. "Don't," he said quietly, "Do that again." It wasn't a great feeling not being in control of anything while still being conscious unless it was to calm down. He let out another steadying breath, before shaking his head to clear the remaining fuzz left in his brain.  
Gavin looked back at Nines with a little grin and chuckled.   
"You were dumb enough to tell me how to do it," he answered back, and he was right. Nines frowned, looking away. True.   
"When do you think you'll be able to fly again?" Nines asked, changing subjects. Knowing Gavin would probably chill for a while, he wondered if now was a good time to catch up on the sleep he had missed. He needed energy and a good night's sleep, but if he had to ignore that to keep Gavin safe, he would.

Gavin's wings were still a bit sore so he wasn't gonna he flying for a little while. He laid down in the sand and decided to sunbathe while Nines recovered.  
He closed his eyes at Nines's question and curled up in the warm sand.   
"A while," he answered bluntly and rolled over onto his back. He purred from the warmth the sun offered, stretching out his wings to dry them.  
Nines nodded, before looking out toward the open water.   
"I guess I'll go and try to catch something if I can." He knew his drowsiness from both the stunt Gavin pulled and the fact that he got very little sleep would most likely affect his energy levels, but he was at least going to try. If anything, he could get a crab or two.  
Gavin jumped up immediately as Nines said that. "No!" He huffed and tried to catch Nines. The merman was too fast though, in mere seconds being submerged by a wave before disappearing.   
"Ugh! Nines, get back here and rest! Stop doing shit for once and just _relax_!!" He yelled down to the swimming merman. If Gavin seriously had to put Nines into tonic immobility again just to make him sit still for one goddamn second...

Nines hadn't heard the avian. He swam off, using his senses to try to track some fish, but there was nothing much. He got a whiff of mackerel- that would work, although they were fairly agile and fast. He knew he probably shouldn't exert a lot of energy, but he was hungry. So Nines followed the scent trail, and finally saw the darting silver-blue fish, light reflecting off of them as they twitched and turned in the water. Making sure he was out of sight at the moment, Nines swam closer until he was in good range. Then he sped forward, swimming right through the pod, slashing and killing what he could, before gathering his rewards. Even if mackerels were fairly filling, on his way back he managed to kill a crab as well, just for good measure. He came back up to the beach, arriving on his back so the fish in his hands wouldn't get sandy.   
"Gavin!" Nines called.

Gavin had been sitting by the shorelines right where Nines had appeared, wincing and yelping at the sudden yell from the merman and covering his ears, moving and flicking Nines's head to shut him up. "I'm right here dumbass!" He groaned and slowly uncovered his ears. "You gotta be so loud?" He huffed and looked at all the fish Nines had gathered.  
"Sorry," Nines grumbled, before laying his head back to look at Gavin. "I didn't think you'd be so close to the water. I got some food, though. Hopefully you like mackerel, I only managed to catch a couple before tiring out. I got a crab, too. Mind taking some? It's a little hard carrying food and maneuvering on land." He offered a few of the silver fish in his arms.  
Gavin slowly leaned over Nines and looked at all the fish he caught. He moved and gathered a bunch up and then stood up and looked down at Nines thoughtfully. He was so tempted to touch his face again and paralyze him but he decided against it and walked away to cook the fish for him... that was if Nines wanted cooked fish.

"Cooked fish is better than raw fish," Gavin spoke to break the silence.  
"Really?" Nines asked as he munched into some of his own sardines. "Can I try some?" Although burnt food- especially seaweed- was offensive to merfolk, He was curious about how it would taste.  
Gavin made sure it wasn't burnt. He cooked the fish until it was a perfect crisp of brown on white meat. If only he could find some herbs- he could make a curry of some sort of paste to make the fish taste even better. He wanted Nines to try everything he could make. When the fish was done he quickly tossed it to Nines, expecting him to be able to catch it.   
"Eat up. Tell me what you think."  
Nines fumbled with the fish Gavin threw at him but managed to catch it. He sniffed it first, examining it. Then he finally nibbled into it, tasting it. It... was warm. Firmer, definitely, it tore easily. It wasn't bad, per se, it was just... different.   
"Interesting," Nines mused as he finished it. "I... suppose I like it. Have you ever tried squid?"

Gavin munched on a bit of fish himself, tearing into the delicious white meat before looking at Nines. He motioned vaguely. "Those uh...slimy mollusks? No, I haven't..." he muttered and sat up slowly, wrapping up the leftover fish In leaves to preserve them. He had a feeling Nines was gonna make him try squid now since he made him try cooked fish.  
"Yeah, one of those," Nines nodded. "Next time I go out, I'll try to catch one." The siren yawned, feeling a rush of exhaustion wash over him at the thought of going out again.   
"If you don't mind, I'm going to try to sleep." He wasn't about day it was because he stayed up all night. "Will you be fine for a bit?"   
He knew daytime would be safer, and the chance of any other sirens jumping them was practically at a 0% chance, especially since Nines hadn't gotten any smell of any other merfolk who might be lingering in the area. But he just wanted to check with Gavin before he slept, just to make sure the avian would be fine.  
Gavin nodded and stretched his wings. "Yeah, yeah... I'll be fine.." he muttered and sat down in the sand, cooking some more fish and munching on it. He supposed he'd be the one keeping watch now since Nines would be out cold. He didn't mind that, he'd be fine. He glanced at Nines and then back at his food with a gentle sigh.  
Taking Gavin's confirmation Nines shifted, situating himself until he was comfortable. He was too exhausted to grab anything to help keep his skin from drying out, or really doing anything for the matter. He just closed his eyes, and was soon out, mind slipping into a gentle sleep as he let out a small exhale to relax.

Gavin groaned softly. What could he even do without Nines awake? He _couldn't_ do anything, that's what. He stared at the sleeping shark and whined. Gavin didn't know what to do with himself, not having anyone to talk to now. He slowly got a little closer to the shark and poked him to make sure he was asleep before he slowly touched his tail, finding comfort in the texture. He didn't know what he was doing, he couldn't help himself... he slowly laid down beside Nines. God, he would really curse himself for what he did next.   
Being careful not to wake him, Gavin grabbed the merman and wrapped his arms around him, proceeding to envelop Nines in his wings, cuddling the siren close before finally settling down. He nearly died when Nines let out a series of odd clicking and an unconscious croon. Gavin could feel it reverberating through the Siren's chest, oddly calming. Gavin's heart rate slowed as he relaxed, and he finally allowed himself to close his eyes.

Nines slept soundly for a good while, subconsciously comforted by Gavin's presence. And when he finally did wake to find himself entangled in Gavin's arms, he simply smiled and closed his eyes again, pressing closer to Gavin and breathing in the avian's scent. It was calming, and God, he didn't want to leave this moment. The avian had found his way into Nines' heart, that was clear. And that realization was both wonderful and scary at the same time.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're enjoying the story, be sure to leave kudos or a comment! It keeps us writers motivated! ♡


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